WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. (SMU) – Senior
Alex Higgs is tied for second at 7-under-par with three holes remaining in the second record, as darkness shortened day one of the Southwestern Invitational Monday. Coupled with a darkness-shortened second round, SMU sits tied for fourth at even par in the 14-team field. The Mustangs carded an even-par 288 in the opening round.
Following a 1-under-par 71 in the opening round, Higgs paced the Mustangs in the afternoon, carding five second-round birdies and an eagle on the 12th hole, a 526-yard, par-5. The Overland Park, Kan., native is 7-under-par (94) thru 33 holes. He is five strokes behind the tournament leader and 35th-ranked, Sahith Theegala of Pepperdine.
Daniel Connolly and
Andrew Buchanan led the Mustangs in the opening round, carding a pair of 2-under-par 70s. Connolly is 1-over-par (73) thru 17 in the second round, while Buchanan finished out with a 3-over-par (75). Connolly is tied for 14th, while Buchanan sits tied for 22nd (+1, 70-75-145).
"The guys played hard and really hung in there today," SMU head coach
Jason Enloe said. "Would have liked to have gotten a few better scores , but with a good round tomorrow, Alex and the team could have solid finishes."
Host school No. 48 Pepperdine leads the tournament at 21-under-par, with No. 6 Southern California (USC) in second at 6-under-par. Washington State is third at 5-under-par (571), while SMU and Limbcomb are both even and tied for fourth.
The 2017 Southwestern Invitational concludes Tuesday with the remainder of round two and the final round of action. Play is slated to resume at 9:30 a.m. CT/ 7:30 PT. Live results can be found at golfstat.com. Full results and recap from the day will be posted at SMUMustangs.com at the conclusion of the tournament.
--SMUMustangs.com--
