RIVERSIDE, Calif. (May 8, 2025) – The University of Texas Permian Basin men's golf program is represented by Will Tate at the NCAA Division II West/South Central Regional Championship at the par-72, 6557-yard Victoria Club in Riverside, California. Tate is one-under-par with a 71 after the first 18 holes on Thursday.

Starting on hole one, Tate was even-par through four holes, and after his first birdie of the tournament on hole five, was one-under through six holes, putting him tied for 15th place at the time. Tate fell back to even-par after the front nine (T-34th) and remained at par after a birdie on hole 15 (T-44th).

Hole 15 was the beginning of a strong ending to round one for Tate, who finished with three birdies on his final four holes (holes 15, 17, 18).

Tate spoke about his performance during round one, saying "I never really got anything going or had great momentum, I just hung in there and stayed patient until the end. I knew there was four par-5's in the last five holes, and I was able to shoot three birdies on those holes and finish one-under for the round. Overall, I think I played okay, but the biggest thing was that I hung in there and kept a positive mindset, and in the end, everything turned out alright."

Tate is currently tied for 35th place out of 108 total golfers after round one.

Among the eight players competing as individuals in the field, Tate is tied for first with Giulio Zanichelli (Academy of Art).

Tate finished with four birdies during the opening round, but also had three bogeys.

UTPB Head Golf Coach Paul Chavez said, "We had a talk before the round, and staying patient was one of the big things we talked about, so I am glad that played dividends for Will today. Some of the holes on this course are tricky with the pin placement, so we wanted to manage those holes well, and he did that, so we knew he had a chance to finish strong. He had a couple of sloppy bogeys, but other than that he played rock solid, and we are looking to improve his score tomorrow."

After recording a birdie on each of the final three par-5's in the round, Tate ranks 14th in the tournament in par-5 scoring (4.40; -3). He is also 18th in par-3 scoring (3.00; E) while his four birdies rank him 31st and his 11 pars rank 34th.

Tate's fellow Lone Star Conference competitors, Oskari Nikku (Oklahoma Christian) and Baptiste Touchard (St. Mary's), are tied for the lead among all players at nine-under-par (63).

"It's a lot of fun playing in regionals," concluded Tate. "I experienced it last year playing with the team, but playing it on your own is a little bit different. There's a little bit less pressure on you to preform since you don't have any teammates to get mad at you, so you can just relax and play. It's nice to play in a strong field against the best players and teams in our region. It's fun to see where you stand."

Tate is back in action tomorrow for the second round from the Victoria Club.