“Today I had more birdie looks and I took advantage of those looks,” said Salvanera. “I was pretty solid keeping it in play and making some putts.”
Sitting just one back of Salvanera is Washington State junior Jaden Cantafio, whose bogey-free 64 similarly shot him up the leaderboard.
Bryant's second round matched that of Salvanera — a 63 that has him four back after a debut round of even-par 71. The Aurora, Colo. native made nine birdies and an eagle on Thursday, though surprisingly never strung together more than two birdies in a row.
Forty players advanced to the final two rounds following the 36-hole cut, which had players 3-over par or better above the cut line.
ROUND 1 RECAP
Shea Lague already had two eagles under his belt heading into the first of two par-3s on the Geronimo Course's front nine. Starting on the back side during the opening round of the Southwestern Amateur, the San Diego State sophomore from Jamul, Calif. made threes on each of the two par-5s he had played thus far, holes 12 and 1.
It's not uncommon for a player of Lague's caliber to card two eagles in a round, but things were about to get crazy.
Lague's tee shot at the par-3 4th went in the hole for his third eagle of the day.
The ace pushed him to 6 under before a bogey and two birdies would close out the first-round 64, securing a two-shot on day one at Desert Mountain.
UC Davis junior Lucas Carper and Arizona mid-amateur Cory Bacon are locked together at 5 under, with Carper going bogey-free for his 66 and Bacon shooting 32 on his second nine to jump towards the top of the leaderboard.
Rounding out the top-five are Rutgers sophomore and Scottsdale native Cade Anderson, as well as Arizona State junior Gabe Salvanera. Both posted 4-under par rounds of 67 and are three back of the lead.
Following Thursday's second round, the field will be cut to the top 36 and ties, leaving the third and fourth rounds to complete Friday and Saturday.
