HENDERSON, Nev. – The Gonzaga men's golf team is through the first round of the West Coast Conference Championships at Reflection Bay Golf Club. The tournament is a three-day event where golfers will play one 18-hole round each day. Nine WCC schools are competing, including BYU, Gonzaga, LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara. Five individuals from each school will compete in each round, and the top four scores will combine for the team score.

After Round 1, the Bulldogs are in ninth place after posting a combined score of 304 (+16). GU tallied 46 pars and 13 birdies on the day. Redshirt junior Matthew Ruel recorded Gonzaga's lone eagle for the round on the par 5 ninth hole.
Zach Stocker was the top scoring Zag on the day, shooting one-over (73) in the first round. He sits in a tie for 18th place on the individual leaderboard heading into Friday's second round. In his opening round, Stocker made ten pars and four birdies, finishing with a strong back nine that included eight holes of par-or-better scores and a lone bogey.

Charlie Magruder is one of four Zags who shot five-over (77) on Thursday and sits in a tie for 34th. After a tough stretch of holes on the front nine which led to a score of 41 (+5), Magruder responded with a strong finish on the back nine. The Las Vegas native shot even-par (36) in his final nine holes to remain at five-over for the round, making ten pars and four birdies along the way.

Ruel, after a triple-bogey on the first hole and a bogey at the second, found his stride on the front nine. The redshirt junior rattled off three straight birdies on holes 4-6 before sinking the first eagle of the tournament at the ninth, finishing one-under (35) on the front. However, a few costly holes on the back nine left him at five-over (77) after the first round.

Jace Minni opened with a score of 37 (+1) on the front nine, however a similar stretch of holes on the back nine resulted in a final round score of 77 (+5). He would finish with 13 pars. Holden Backes shot even-par (36) and five-over (41) to finish five-over (77), making nine pars and two birdies in Round 1.

Two individuals are tied atop the individual leaderboard after the first round. Loyola Marymount's Riley Lewis and BYU's Cole Ponich each shot three-under (69) on Thursday. Pepperdine and LMU are tied for the team lead at even-par (288).
Round 2 will tee off at 7 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on Friday. Information on pairings and live scoring will be available at GoZags.com.
 
WCC Championship R1 Results
Team
9. Gonzaga – 304 (+16)
Individual
T18. Zach Stocker – 73 (+1)
T34. Charlie Magruder – 77 (+5)
T34. Matthew Ruel – 77 (+5)
T34. Jace Minni – 77 (+5)
T34. Holden Backes – 77 (+5)
 
Course Information
Reflection Bay Golf Club
Henderson, Nevada
R1: 7,193 yards, Par 72