Thailand's K.K. Limbhasut Leads by Narrow Single Shot Margin After Round One at Pacific Coast Amateur
The UC-Berkeley junior paired identical nines of two-under 34 to start his week in the lead at Seattle Golf Club; Southern California Golf Association leads team competition by four-strokes over Northern California; Chris Babcock of Seattle sits tied for eighth
PACIFIC COAST GOLF ASSOCIATION (Seattle, Wash.)– K.K. Limbhasut, a native of Bangkok, Thailand and a member of the UC-Berkeley men’s golf program, takes the early lead at the 50th Pacific Coast Amateur Championship at Seattle Golf Club.
Limbhasut, a weekly challenger in national ranked amateur championships across the globe, got off on the right foot by posting a four-under-par 68, one better than La Jolla, Calif. native Perry Cohen.
Starting his day in a gloomy, overcast setting, Limbhasut wasted no time, making birdie on the first hole and pacing himself nicely. After dropping a shot on the par-4 3rd, Limbhasut would go on to make back-to-back birdies on holes six and seven to go out in two-under 34.
He would continue his relentlessly consistent play, posting two more birdies on holes 14 and 16, leaving the speedy Seattle Golf Club for the day with only a single bogey.
“I hit the ball great today,” mentioned Limbhasut after his round.
“I put myself in the fairway almost the entire day so that gave me a lot of birdie chances. I didn’t short-side myself so whenever I missed the green, I had simple chip shots. I am excited for tomorrow.”
Close behind Limbhasut are Cohen at three-under, and a group of talented players at two-under including Wodonga, Australia’s Zach Murray, Lake Mary, Fla.’s Carl Yuan and a trio of Californians in Shintaro Ban of San Jose, Collin Morikawa of La Canada Flintridge and Nahum Mendoza of San Diego.
Two Washingtonian players are tied in eighth position, those being Aaron Whalen of Ephrata and Chris Babcock of Seattle.
In total, 13 players broke par at the undulating and picturesque Seattle Golf Club layout, paving the way for an exciting championship over the next three days of competition.
Defending Pacific Coast Amateur champion Corey Pereira of Cameron Park, Calif. struggled in his effort to add another Dr. Ed Updegraff trophy to his mantle, posting a first-round seven-over-par 79.
Taking place concurrently with the first and second rounds is the battle for the Morse Cup, a 36-hole stroke play team competition using predetermined rosters representing the 15 member Associations of the Pacific Coast Golf Association. Scores for the low two members of the team count.
Sitting alone at the top is the Southern California Golf Associations at four-under. Tight on their heels are a familiar foe in the Northern California Golf Association at even par and the Alberta Golf Association only two-back of Northern California at two-over. Northern California is the defending champion on the Morse Cup.
Held on an annual basis since 1967, with roots dating back to 1901, the Pacific Coast Amateur Championship boasts a rich history of showcasing some of the most talented golfers in the United States, Canada and beyond.
Past champions of the Pacific Coast Amateur who have gone on to successful careers include PGA Tour winners Billy Mayfair (1987, 1988), Jason Gore (1997) and Ben Crane (1998) as well as Web.com Tour winners and brothers Michael Putnam (2004) and Andrew Putnam (2010). Last year’s champion, Aaron Wise, has since hit the professional ranks and as such, is not defending.
For more information on the Championship, visit www.pacificcoastamateur.com. Spectators and Media are welcome to attend with entrance being free of charge. Play begins tomorrow at 7:50am PST.
For a full listing of round one scores, please visit www.pacificcoastamateur.com
Follow along with this years’ Championship on social media using Twitter handle @pacificcoastam , Instagram @pacificcoastam and Facebook /pacificcoastamateur using the official hashtags #PACCoast