MGOLF Closes Day One in a Tie for 17th at the Prestige

Monday, February 17

Palm Springs, Calif.

Baylor

The Prestige

MGOLF Closes Day One in a Tie for 17th at the Prestige

2/17/2025 8:46:00 PM | Men's Golf

Round One Stats

BU’s Heffernan shoots a 1-under 70 to lead the Bears’ Cause

By: Matt Roberts

LA QUINTA, Calif. — Baylor men's golf shot a 6-over 290 to finish Monday in a tie for 17th after one round of the Prestige on the Norman Course at PGA West.

Baylor's Zach Heffernan led the charge for BU, shooting a 1-under 70 to tie for 24^th place as the top-finishing Bear. Oregon's Aiden Kraft, North Carolina's David Ford and Kansas State's Kobe Valociek share the overnight lead with a trio of 5-under 66s.

The Bears are knotted with No. 15 Pepperdine and Oregon State and sit just six shots out of a three-way tie for 10^th place.

THE RUNDOWN
Heffernan opened with a birdie at No. 1 and finished the front nine with a clean 1-under 34. The senior reached 3-under with an eagle at No. 12. A double-bogey at No. 13 dropped him back to 1-under, where he would finish after five more pars.

Drew Wrightson finished tied for 53^rd on the heels of a 1-over 72. The junior bounced back from an early bogey at No. 2 with a birdie at No. 3. He turned at 1-over after a bogey at No. 7. He pushed back to even with a birdie at No. 10 but gave it back with a bogey at No. 13.

Jonas Appel wrapped day one in a tie for 66^th after a 2-over 73. The junior started strong with a birdie at No. 1 and would finish the front nine in red figures after eight more pars. Appel played his first four holes on the back nine at 4-over with two bogeys and a double before rebounding with a birdie at No. 14.

Freshman Vincent Stjernfeldt shot a 4-over 75 to tie for 88^th after round one. Birdies at Nos. 2 and 6 were offset by bogeys at Nos. 3 and 7 to make the turn with an even-par 35. A couple of double bogeys at Nos. 12 and 17 served as the only blemishes on the back nine as he came home with a 4-over 75.

Davis Ovard tied for 95^th at the end of round one after a 5-over 76. A pair of book-end bogeys at Nos. 1 and 9 saw him make the turn at 2-over. His first birdie of the day came at No. 10 before he hit a stretch of four-straight bogeys at Nos. 13-16.

Over at the Prestige Individual Invite, Sam Dossey led the charge for BU on day one, shooting an even-par 72 to finish in ninth, while Martin Kemp was just a shot back at 1-over. Jackson Hymer tied for 14^th with a 2-over 74, a stroke ahead of Corbin Null and Aidan Gutierrez, who tied for 17^th. Patricio Gonzalez shot an 8-over 80 to tie for 31^st.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Bears were one of eight teams to make an eagle on Monday
BU's 63 pars tied for the second-most in the field
Zach Heffernan tied for the best par-5 scoring average on Monday (4.00)
Heffernan's opening-round 70 ties his best opening-round score this year
Heffernan now has four rounds this season at par or better

STAT OF THE DAY

11 — Zach Heffernan now has 11-career opening rounds at par or better

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will be grouped with Oregon and Pepperdine in the second round, beginning Tuesday afternoon at 1:55 p.m. CT. For more information on Baylor Men's Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on X, Instagram and Facebook.

—BaylorBears.com—