Washington State Battles Blustery Conditions on Day One at The Prestige
LA QUINTA, Calif. - The opening round of The Prestige at PGA West wasn’t kind to most of the field, and Washington State was no exception. On a day when only three teams managed to break par, the Cougars found themselves grinding through tough conditions and a demanding Greg Norman Course, wrapping up Monday with a team score of 13-over 297. That puts them in 18th place in a deep 24-team field.
Redshirt junior Ben Borgida led the way for WSU, carding a 2-over 73. He started strong on the front nine, balancing two birdies with a pair of bogeys to make the turn at even par.
But the back nine brought more turbulence. A double bogey on the par-4 10th proved costly, and although he added another birdie to the card, it was offset by a bogey, leaving him tied for 42nd heading into Tuesday.
Freshman Dylan Boenning and sophomore Dylan Burcham each posted 3-over 74s, showing flashes of promise despite the difficult setup. Boenning rolled in two birdies on the day, while Burcham found three, but both had to navigate stretches of bogeys that kept them from going lower. They sit tied for 56th after round one.
Senior Sam Renner turned in a 5-over 76, tying for 86th. He notched three birdies, including one on the par-5 16th, but struggled to find rhythm across the round.
Freshman Christian Flick got off to a hot start with a birdie early, but couldn’t maintain momentum. He added just one more birdie the rest of the way, finishing with a 10-over 81, tied for 111th.
Meanwhile, one Cougar sophomore-competing as an individual at the nearby Terra Lago course in Indio-put together a solid 2-over 74, highlighted by three birdies on the front nine. While his score won’t count toward the team total, it was a bright spot on a day where red numbers were hard to come by.
Oregon State took full advantage of calmer morning conditions, firing a blistering 9-under 275 to grab the early lead. They’ll head into Tuesday with a seven-shot cushion over Oregon (-2) and an eight-shot edge on UNC-Wilmington (-1), the only other teams to break par in round one.
The Cougars will look to climb the leaderboard when play resumes Tuesday morning. They’re scheduled to tee off the back nine starting at 7:40 a.m., hoping for steadier play and a little help from the desert weather.