LAKE CHARLES, La. — Joshua Hong matched a pair of school records and UTSA is in third place, only two shots off the lead after the first day of the Golden Nugget Invitational, which got underway Monday at The Country Club at The Golden Nugget (par 72/7,000 yards).
The Roadrunners, who won the Military City Collegiate team championship last week, registered rounds of 18-under-par 270 and 11-under 277 to earn sole possession of third place at 29-under 547, two shots behind host Lamar and one back of Tarleton with 18 holes left to play on Tuesday.
Individually, three Roadrunners are in the top 10. Hong is in third place at 10-under 134 (64-70), which matches Gibby Martens’ school record for a 36-hole total and puts the true freshman three shots behind co-leaders Louis Anceaux of ULM and Alvaro Pastor of Tarleton. Sam Acharya has grabbed a share of fifth at 8-under 136 (66-70), while Brayden Bare is tied for seventh at 7-under 137 (70-67).
UTSA posted a 270 in the opening round to set the tone for the day and notch the third-best team total in program history. Hong’s 8-under 64 paced four counting scores that were all under par, as the Mexico native matched the school record first set by Derek Steinbruck in 1990 and matched by Luke Healy in 2001. Acharya fired a collegiate best 6-under 66, while Bare and Francisco Solorza both turned in a 70.
The Roadrunners’ 277 in the second round was highlighted by Bare’s 67, while Acharya, Hong and Solorza all carded a 70. UTSA was bumped to third place after Lamar and Tarleton each fired a 271 in the afternoon. The Roadrunners have a 14-shot advantage over a tie for fourth between Abilene Christian and ULM in the 10-team field.
Hong’s record-tying opening round featured nine birdies including four in a row on his final four holes. He started with a birdie on the 501-yard, par-5 first and then went back-to-back on the 207-yard, par-3 fourth and 535-yard, par-5 fifth holes. He logged his fourth birdie of the day with a three on the 458-yard eighth as part of a 4-under 32 on the front nine. He circled his number on the 520-yard, par-5 12th before settling for his only bogey on the next hole, then closing with a par and his four straight birdies.
𝙎𝘾𝙃𝙊𝙊𝙇 𝙍𝙀𝘾𝙊𝙍𝘿 🤙
— UTSA Men's Golf (@UTSAMensGolf) March 3, 2026
UTSA freshman Joshua Hong has stamped his name in the school record book with his opening round at the Golden Nugget Invitational. #LetsGo210 | #BirdsUp 🤙 pic.twitter.com/3YdSjGzHVA
In the afternoon, Hong added four more birdies against a pair of bogeys en route to his 2-under 70, putting himself in contention for his second straight individual title after winning the Military City Collegiate last week.
Acharya also carded the best round of his young career with a 66 in the morning. The freshman from Nepal wrote down seven birdies against only one bogey in eclipsing his previous collegiate best of 68 posted last week at the Military City Collegiate. In the second round, he added five more birdies to his total for the week but had to settle for a bogey and double bogey en route to a 70.
Bare opened the week with a 2-under 70 that featured a trio of birdies before also turning in his best collegiate round in the afternoon with a 67. Starting on the first, the redshirt junior from Waco eagled the 501-yard par 5 and then birdied the fourth to get to 5-under for the day. He tacked on four birdies during a six-hole stretch on the back nine to get to 6-under for the round before a bogey on the 18th knocked him back to 5-under.
Francisco Solorza is part of a tie for 18th at 4-under 140. The redshirt freshman from Mexico carded a 2-under 70 in each round on the strength of seven total birdies.
Logan Vargas rounds out the UTSA lineup in a tie for 36th at even-par 144. The senior out of Lubbock posted a pair of 72s behind nine birdies on the day.
Competing as an individual, Jacob King fired a 4-under 68, his best round as a Roadrunner. He logged four birdies on a bogey-free scorecard with three coming as part of a 33 on the back. The Boerne native recorded a 74 in the afternoon and finds himself in a tie for 26th at 2-under 142.
David Martinez also is playing outside of the lineup and is tied for 57th (74-75—149).
The final round is slated for an 8:45 a.m. shotgun start on Tuesday.
-UTSA-