Halfway through the second round, BYU leads the field at 23-under par followed closely bt Arizona, which sits just one back at 22-under. New Mexico is a distant third at 13-under.
Ian Gilligan of Long Beach State, the 11th-ranked player in the nation as listed by Golfstat, blitzed the Ocean Course in the morning with a career-best 11-under 61. The sophomore from Reno, Nev. was even par through 10 holes on his second round and held a one-shot lead over BYU's Keanu Akina and New Mexico's Bastien Amat when play was suspended for the day.
Gilligan's opening round got off to a somewhat inauspicious start, as he made a bogey on his opening hole, the par-4 ninth. He then preceded to birdie five of his next nine holes and after dropping a shot on his 11th hole, played the last seven holes at 8-under, collecting two eagles and four birdies, setting tournament, course and school records.
Gilligan won twice in the fall, earning co-medalist honors at the Nick Watney Invitational in September and posting a five-shot victory at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational at Sonoma Golf Club.
Following his freshman year in high school, Gilligan was diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. He'd end up spending 50 days in a hospital and lost over 50 pounds. Four years later and cancer-free, Gilligan completed his comeback by winning the 119th Northern California Golf Association Amateur Championship at Spyglass Hill in August.
His performance at Spyglass was selected as one of the top-20 most memorable moments in amateur golf for 2022.
Teams will resume their second round on Friday with hopes of completing 36 holes before predicted rainstorms hit the Hawaiian Islands.
