LIHUE, Hawai'i (UNLVRebels.com) – UNLV men's golf sophomore
Zach Little set the par-70 course record to lead the Rebels' combined 8-under as a team during Friday's second round of the John A. Burns Intercollegiate being hosted by Hawai'i at the Ocean Course at Hokuala (Par 70, 7,098 yards).
The Croxley Green, England native shot a bogey-free 7-under 63, which included seven birdies, to also move into a tie for second at 6-under for the tournament alongside Utah's Gabriel Palacios and Santa Clara's Emil Nielsen. His round bested the course's previous record by current Korn Ferry Tour member Sam Bennett from Texas A&M (2023), Tony Chen from Cal (2023) and current DP World Tour member Sebastian Amat from New Mexico (2024) by one shot.
With their score, the Rebels (-8) maintained their top-3 spot on the team leaderboard, sitting in third place within seven shots of the Utes (-15) in first and one shot of second place Long Beach State (-9). Little, meanwhile, finds himself two shots shy of the current leader Sergio Jimenez (-8) from Utah.
In total, the Scarlet & Gray had three players shoot below par for the day, with junior
Wyatt Plattner (-3) shooting a 2-under 68 to remain in a tie for 11th and senior
Trevor Lewis (-2) in a tie for 16th after his own 2-under 68. Plattner matched Little with seven birdies to give the duo more than half of UNLV's birdie count for the round.
Also competing for the Rebel lineup are senior
Caden Fioroni (+3) in a tie for 44th and senior
Ben Sawaia (+5) in a tie for 57th through 36 holes. Junior
Brett Sawaia (+8) is tied for 77th playing as an individual.
QUOTABLE: "I started very well with four birdies on my first eight holes. However, I knew that a tough stretch lay ahead. I focused on keeping it straight and in play. I birdied my 18th hole (hole No. 2) to finish with a birdie to cap off a really special day."
-UNLV Men's Golf Sophomore Zach Little
UP NEXT: The tournament concludes with Saturday's final round set for another shotgun start at noon PT/9 a.m. HT.
