Five members of the Chico State men's golf team—Mark Noonan, Travis Miller, Naoki Easterday, Dakota Ochoa, and Tyler Ashman—pose with the championship trophy from the 2022 Southwest Airlines Hawaii Pacific Shark Shootout on a putting green with black lava rock and a blue ocean behind them.

’Cats Only Four Back Entering Final Round

10/28/2022 4:38:00 PM | By: Luke Reid - Sports Information Director (lreid@csuchico.edu)

Ochoa and Noonan two of only 15 to shoot even par or better Friday on the Big Island

WAHIAWA, Hawaii—Two days after winning for the second time in four events, the Chico State men's golf team is in contention for another title. The Wildcats shot 5-over par as a team in the opening round of the Southwest Airlines Dennis Rose Invitational Thursday at Waikoloa Beach Course in Waikoloa, Hawaii and trail tournament leader Western Washington by only four shots with Saturday's final round still to play.

Chico State is among seven teams within four strokes of the lead. Fourth-ranked Western Washington leads the way at 1-over par, followed by Hawaii-Hilo and Sonoma State at 3-over, Colorado Colorado Springs at 4-over, and Chico State, Cal State San Marcos, and Stanislaus State at 5-over. Wrapping up the top 10 in the 16-team field are Cal State Monterey Bay (+9) and Cal State San Bernardino and Hawaii Pacific (+13 apiece).

During Thursday's practice round, Chico State received its team trophy from the Southwest Airlines Hawaii Pacific University Shark Shootout, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday at Leilehua Golf Course in Wahiawa on the island of Oahu. The Wildcats appear to be enjoying the island life. Though the Big Island course was playing tougher, they hung tight to the top of the leaderboard.

Dakota Ochoa led the way with a 2-under par 68. The sophomore rolled in three birdie putts and only made one bogey all day. Mark Noonan is even par, Naoki Easterday +3, Tyler Ashman +4, and Travis Miller +8. Ochoa trails tournament leader Jordan Lee of Western Washington by three shots. He and Noonan were two of only 15 in the 88-player field to shoot even or better. The average score Wednesday on the par-70, 6,566-yard layout, was 5-over par.

The event concludes Saturday with a single round scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m., Pacific, via shotgun start. The Wildcats will likely be paired with California Collegiate Athletic Association foes Cal State San Marcos, Stanislaus State, and Cal State Monterey Bay. Fans can follow the final round action via a live leaderboard linked in the calendar section of the homepage and on the men's golf schedule page at www.ChicoWildcats.com.

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