The University of Arizona men's golf team has some catching up to do over the next two days if it hopes to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
The Wildcats are in 12th out of 13 teams after the opening round of play Monday at the Institute Golf Club in Morgan Hill (Calif.) Regional. Only the top five teams after Wednesday's play will advance.
UA, ranked No. 19th nationally and seeded fourth in the region, shot a 10-over 298 and trails leader Mississippi State (276) by 22 shots. The Wildcats are 13 strokes behind Baylor and Charlotte, who are tied for fourth after shooting a 285 and represent the spot UA must climb to in order to advance.
Florida State (281) is second, followed by Pepperdine (284).
Tiger Christensen shot an even-par 72 to lead UA, which opened play on the back nine holes. Christensen tied for 27th among individuals. Christensen trails leader Alfons Bondesson of Missouri by five shots.
Other Wildcat scores Monday were Chase Sienkiewicz (74), Zach Pollo (75) Filip Jakubcik (77) and Sam Sommerhauser (78).
UA did manage to shoot nine strokes better after the turn Monday.
"This morning proved to be a challenging start to our week, but we were able to post much better scores in the afternoon," said UA coach Jim Anderson in a news release. "I am confident our afternoon momentum will carry over into (Tuesday's) second round as we will look to move up the leaderboards."
