It was a homecoming at Boulder Creek Golf Club for three Southern Utah University golfers who are playing in the WAC Men’s Golf Championship. Former Bishop Gorman golfers Leo Torres and Mitchell Abbott, and Sierra Vista alum Rashon Williams, were back. They shared some Vegas golf memories after round one of the conference tourney.
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Abbott has been looking forward to the event for the entire season.
“This is awesome and it is terrific to have my family come out and watch,” Abbott said after round one. “I’ve been looking forward to this tournament all year, so it’s really exciting and I’m just happy I got to make the trip.”
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For Williams, Boulder Creek holds a lot of memories including his first under par round and also of being inspired by watching his sister play in the state championship.
“There are a lot of memories here at Boulder Creek,” Williams said. “My sister played state here when I was in middle school and I came out and watched her. And I played a lot of good events here. I played the Clark County Am, which is fun to play. I always play that every single year. And I actually shot my first under par round here when I was about 10. It feels good coming back home, coming to a course I know.”
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Torres was playing in the WAC Championship after earning second alternate at the U. S. Open Local Qualifier up the road at CasaBlanca in Mesquite.
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Las Vegas’ Seth Winterton also plays for Southern Utah but was not in the linefup.
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Mitchell Abbott and Leo Torres both shoot even par to pace the Thunderbirds through round one. Abbott with four birdies and four bogeys in round one. Torres’ round was a little more adventurous, had an eagle and a triple bogey on the card, but a stretch of four birdies in his final seven holes helped him to an even-par finish and a tie for 21st on the tournament.
Jaxon Long and Atthasit (Anfield) Srichun both finished one over par and in a tie for 33rd. Long was the hottest player on the course at one point, getting his score all the way down to four under par, but a triple and double bogey on the back nine would see him finish +1.
Rashon Williams isn’t far behind his teammates, an even par back nine would have Williams finish +4 on the day, and in a tie for 49th.
Overall, The top two seeds in the 2023 Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Men’s Golf Championship put on a show in the tournament’s opening round on Friday on a sunny but windy day at Boulder Creek Golf Club. No. 1 seed Sam Houston fired a 14-under-par score of 274 to a take a three-shot lead over No. 2 NM State (277, -11) after 18 holes on the near 7,500-yard, par-72 layout.