Lin, who won the Asia-Pacific Amateur for the second time last fall, is set to return to both the Masters and British Open. The USC freshman is 10 under, five shots ahead of Florida's Ricky Castillo, winner of two events already this spring. SMU's Mac Meissner is third at 4 under par.
Lin's USC Trojans will take a nine-shot lead into the final round. Texas remains in second place, led by Parker Coody who shot 68 in round two.
No. 1 Pepperdine made a charge on Monday, climbing into sixth on the strength of Sahith Theegala's 65, the low round in the tournament so far.
The individual winner of the Southern Highlands Collegiate will receive an exemption into the PGA Tour's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in the fall. Last year, Jack Trent of UNLV won the tournament and went on to finish T29 at the Shriners.
DAY ONE REPORT
Yuxin Lin, a freshman from Beijing, China, shot a 5-under 67 to share the lead at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas.
Lin, who won the Asia-Pacific Amateur for the second time last fall, is headed for return trips to the Masters and British Open in 2020. On Sunday, he bogeyed his first hole of the day but went six under from there to lead USC to a five-shot lead after the first round.
Two of his teammates, junior Issei Tanabe and sophomore Cameron Henry, joined Lin in the top 10 for the Trojans.
Six players are tied for fourth at 1 under par.
Texas, coming off of a win at The Prestige in the California desert, sits in second place with UCLA another shot behind. Texas Tech and Georgia are tied for fourth, eight shots off of the lead.
No. 1 Pepperdine struggled in the first round, and is currently is 12th place out of the 15 teams.
VIDEO | @SRTheegala talks about this weekend's Southern Highlands Collegiate, the No. 1 ranking and the Waves' postseason hopes:#WavesUp pic.twitter.com/6emc879DrQ
— Pepperdine Men’s Golf (@PeppGolf) February 29, 2020