Arizona Amateur: Triplett and Werbylo set the pace

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona (August 22, 2016) -- Defending champion Ken Tanigawa automatically gets the No. 2 seed. But that's not stopping him to try and go one better and earn medalist honors the stroke play portion of the Arizona State Amateur. Today at The Country Club at D.C. Ranch, Tanigawa fired 3-under 68 to stay within three shots of day one leaders Sam Triplett and Trevor Werbylo who both went out in 5-under 65. Triplett (son of longtime PGA Tour player Kirk Triplett) is a junior at Northwestern. Trevor Werbylo a senior in high school from Tucson. Not to be outdone by players less than half his age, Jeff New of Scottsdale turned in a 4-under 66. New, who has captured major senior titles like the 2015 Trans-Miss Senior and 2012 Harvey Penick Senior, shows no sign of a slowing golf game. Indeed, we're sure he will be shooting his age "sooner than most." He's tied at 4-under with Matthew McCarty (another young player). All four of the leaders played in the morning wave which had much lower scores than the afternoon, when wind gusted to 25-30 mph. (An afternoon storm whipped through and suspended play for 45 minutes.) Still, these guys played well. You would have to go all the way to the 5th player to find the first bogey. Amazing. The host course, The Country Club at D.C. Ranch is reportedly in excellent condition with pure greens. -- Conner Penfold contributed to this story