RJ Manke and Sahith Theegala haven’t been at the top of the leaderboard for a while, but they both had excellent first rounds at the PGA West Stadium Course as tournament #7 got underway.
The Waves have regularly played in The Prestige at PGA West, though that takes place on the Norman Course. With that course unavailable, this tournament is on the Stadium Course, which is a more challenging course.
Manke fired a 6-under 66 to go into first place, with Theegala two shots back after a 4-under 66. The duo each won one of the first two tournaments of the season. The winner of the last two events, Joe Highsmith, is lurking three shots back of Manke, one of three players tied for third.
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Leaderboard: 1. RJ Manke 66; 2. Sahith Theegala 68; T3. Clay Feagler 69; T3. Joe Highsmith 69; T3. Joshua McCarthy 69; T6. Josh Anderson 71; T6. Derek Hitchner 71; T6. Andrew Putnam 71; T9. William Mouw 72; T9. Austin Murphy 72; T11. Roy Cootes 73; T11. Cody McManus 73; T11. Frederick Wedel 73; 14. Kevin DeHuff 74; T15. Johnny Mac Arthur 76; T15. Joey Vrzich 76.
- Manke had a flawless round with six birdies and no miscues. He birdied the first two holes, and each of the last three.
- Theegala had a double-bogey on 9 to go 2-over at the turn. But he had six of his seven birdies on the back nine to make a big move up the leaderboard.
- Anderson had a notable round, starting with 17 straight pars before posting a birdie on 18.
- Putnam had the only eagle in the round on the par-5 eighth hole.
- The average score for the round was 71.4 strokes on the par-72 course. Eight Waves finished below par.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 