LIHUE, Hawaii - Santa Clara freshman golfer Emil Nielsen had an outstanding start to his time in the Hawaiian Islands, turning in a 3-under 67 in the opening round of the John Burns Intercollegiate to finish the day in a tie for third and just one stroke behind the co-leaders for the individual lead. The Broncos had a solid day as a team as well, finishing in the top half of the 16-team field with a 3-over 283.

ROUND HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nielsen carded six birdies for the day and was perfect on the front nine. He finished the day in a four-way tie for third and right behind Missouri's Brock Snyder and Illinois' Jackson Buchanan (66) for the lead. 
• Calder Overfelt also finds himself inside the top 15 after 18 holes of work, finishing at even-par 72.
• Fellow freshman Matt Robles, coming off his second top-five finish of the season, is also in contention for another top-20 finish after carding a 2-over 72 to put himself in a crowded 10-way tie for 37th. 
• J.P. Odland (74) and Alvaro Muller (77) are tied for 55th and 82nd, respectively. 
• Utah holds a seven-stroke advantage and was the lone team to shoot under par on the opening day. The Utes lead the field at 7-under 273 with UNLV and Illinois tied for second at 280, and followed closely by BYU (281), New Mexico (282) and the Broncos. 

SANTA CLARA INDIVIDUALS:

Place	Player	Score
T3	Nielsen	67 (-3)
T15	Overfelt	70 (E)
T37	Robles	72 (+2)
T55	Odland	74 (+4)
T82	Muller	77 (+7)

TEAM STANDINGS:

Place	Team	Score
1	Utah	273 (-7)
T2	UNLV	280 (E)
T2	Illinois	280 (E)
4	BYU	281 (+1)
5	New Mexico	282 (+2)
6	Santa Clara	283 (+3)
T7	Texas A&M	286 (+6)
T7	Long Beach State	286 (+6)
T7	Missouri	286 (+6)
10	Saint Mary's	289 (+9)
11	Fresno State	291 (+11)
T12	Washington State	294 (+14)
T12	San Diego State	294 (+14)
15	Cal	298 (+18)
T16	UTEP	299 (+19)
T16	Hawaii	299 (+19)

NEXT UP:
The Broncos will look to have another good showing in Friday's second round.