LA QUINTA, Calif. \u2014\u00a0Three-time defending champion\u00a0Long Beach State\u00a0picked up where they left off in the first round of the 2026 Big West Men\u2019s Golf Championship, putting an aggregate 12-under 276\u00a0to jump out to a 14-stroke lead at La Quinta Country Club on Sunday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Beach\u00a0were\u00a0in the first wave of the tee, lucky to get\u00a0the majority of\u00a0the round in before\u00a0high winds hit the course later in the afternoon. Gusts as high as the 40s were seen in the closing hours of the day as temperatures were expected to fall and more windy conditions\u00a0are expected overnight.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
LBSU\u2019s impressive round is their lowest 5-count-4 score in their last three title-winning seasons. All four countable scores were under-par rounds, led by first-round pacesetter Steen\u00a0Zeman\u00a0who fired off a bogey-free 5-under 67. Two of the three players\u00a0knotted in second are Beach teammates Jack Cantlay and Alejandro De Castro Piera, who both shot 69, tying with\u00a0Zhenxian\u00a0Zhang of the UC Davis at 3-under\u00a069.\u00a0Jaden Huggins rounded out LBSU\u2019s countable scores with a first-round 71\u00a0as the team rolled in 19 total birdies on the day to\u00a0gain the advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cal Poly\u00a0sits in second place with a team score of 290,\u00a0at\u00a0two\u00a0over par. Rafael Bobo-Lloret and Jack Jarvis both posted even-par rounds of 72, helping the team\u00a0maintain its position\u00a0with Bobo-Lloret the freshman Frenchman\u2019s round highlighted by an eagle on the 516-yard par-5 fifth hole.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
UC San Diego and\u00a0UC Davis share\u00a0third place, each with a score of 291\u00a0and both with a pair of players in the individual top 10. Ethan Lien\u00a0(t-5; 71) and Nathan Tseng\u00a0(t-8; 72)\u00a0are pacing the Tritons with\u00a0Zhang\u00a0(t-2; 69) and\u00a0Curtis Da Silva\u00a0(t-8; 72) leading the way for the Aggies to bolster their respective teams\u2019 standings and sit just one stroke back from the Mustangs. The Tritons will join the first wave out of the gates on Moving Day starting at 10 a.m. on Monday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
UC Davis\u00a0is\u00a0the lead team in the second wave, paired with Hawai\u2019i and UC Irvine, locked in a tie for fifth\u00a0and two strokes back from the Aggies\u00a0at\u00a05-over 293. The trio\u00a0open\u00a0the round beginning at 10:50 a.m., with featured players and top\u00a010 competitors Dane Watanabe of Hawai\u2019i (t-5; 71) and UC Irvine\u2019s Jason Tang (t-8; 72) taking to the course\u00a0in the 11:30 a.m. grouping.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Twosomes from UC Santa Barbara\u00a0(295; +7)\u00a0and Cal State Fullerton\u00a0(298; +10)\u00a0will follow\u00a0with CSUN (310; +22) and UC Riverside (311; +23)\u00a0rounding\u00a0out the\u00a0second-round\u00a0pairings.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Long Beach State is chasing a piece of history, looking to become just the third program to win four or more Championship titles in a row.\u00a0Last year\u2019s three-day record-setting total of 22-under 842 also looks to be in jeopardy.\u00a0Another eye is on the potential spread as the last double-digit margin of victory came in\u00a02011,\u00a0an 18-stroke separation when UC Davis claimed victory over\u00a0Pacific.\u00a0<\/p>\n