Cheng Leads After First Day of UC Santa Cruz Invitational, Athenas in Second

GolfStat Scoring

PACIFIC GROVE, Calif. - Stella Cheng shot an even-par 72 in the opening round of the UC Santa Cruz Invitational at Pacific Grove Golf Links on Saturday, helping the Athenas stand in second place as a team.

Cheng was the only player of the 57 in the field to avoid shooting over par on Saturday, getting a birdie on the par-three 17th hole to come in at even. She also had back-to-back birdies on the 8th and 9th holes to take the turn at -1. 

Esther Lee is one shot behind Cheng in a three-way tie for second with a 73. Lee's round included an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole, followed by a birdie on the ninth.

Jeissy Lee stands in 11th place after an opening round 77, closing with some momentum with birdies on the 14th and 18th to end up -2 on her final five holes. 

Redlands is in first place at +7 after shooting 295 as a team, while CMS is in second at 302 and Pomona-Pitzer is third at 305. After the three SCIAC teams at the top of the leaderboard, George Fox is in fourth (+23), UT Dallas is in fifth (+24) and host UC Santa Cruz in is in sixth (+41). 

The second round of the UC Santa Cruz Invitational will get underway tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m.