EL MACERO, Calif. — Riley Bell shot a 4-under par round of 68 and is tied for third place after the first round of the El Macero Classic on Wednesday. Bell's score helped the Hornets finish even par as a team which ties for fifth place.
Bell started his round with a bogey on the 10th hole but caught fire with birdies on Nos. 11, 14, 15 and 18 to move to 3-under at the midway point of his round. He dropped to 5-under with birdies on the par-5 second and fifth holes before a bogey on the par-4 sixth. Bell closed the day with three straight pars. His score is the second best of his collegiate career, trailing only a 67 which came at the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic on Nov. 2, 2018.
Casey Leebrick also finished in the red with a 1-under par round of 71. Leebrick was 2-over through six holes following bogeys on Nos. 12 and 13. He worked his way back to even with birdies on the par-3 16th and par-5 18th. A bogey on the par-5 second moved him to 1-over but was quickly answered by birdies on Nos. 4 and 5.
Ethan Davidson shot 74 to rank third on the team. Davidson opened with back-to-back birdies on his first two holes and was 1-over at the turn following a birdie on the par-5 15th, a bogey on the par-3 16th and a birdie on the par-5 18th. He started the front nine with eight consecutive pars before a bogey on the par-4 ninth concluded his round.
Blaze Akana shot 75 to round out the team score. Akana had two birdies and four bogeys on the back nine before a birdie (No. 5) and bogeys (Nos. 4 and 6) and the front nine.
Loyola Marymount leads the 14-team field at 8-under. The Lions hold a two stroke edge of Denver and Long Beach State which are tied for second. Cal Poly is third at 2-under par while Sacramento State and Santa Clara were both event to tie for fifth.
The individual lead is shared by Long Beach State's Tyler Schafer and LMU's Cameron Meeks who each shot 67. Bell is one of three golfers to record a 68 during the round.
Sacramento State will begin the second round off the first tee starting at 9:42 a.m. on Thursday. The team will be paired with Cal State Fullerton, Seattle U and Cal Poly during the round.
EL MACERO CLASSIC
El Macero, Calif. | El Macero CC
Par 72 | 7,138 Yards
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Loyola Marymount 280
T2. Denver 282
T2. Long Beach State 282
4. Cal Poly 286
T5. SACRAMENTO STATE 288
T5. Santa Clara 288
T5. UCLA 288
T5. Cal State Fullerton 288
9. Grand Canyon 289
T10. Seattle U 290
T10. Fresno State 290
12. UC Davis 291
13. Idaho 298
14. UC San Diego 299
INDIVIDUAL TOP FIVE
T1. Tyler Schafer, LBSU, 67
T1. Cameron Meeks. LMU, 67
T3. Riley Bell, SAC, 68
T3. Esteban Missura, DEN, 68
T3. Berk Harvey SCU, 68
SACRAMENTO STATE SCORES
T3. Riley Bell 68
T18. Casey Leebrick 71
T38. Ethan Davidson 74
T48. Blaze Akana 75
T72. Jonathan Tanihana 78
