FRESNO, Calif. - Senior Darien Zhao had a record-breaking day to lead the UC Irvine men's golf team through the first two rounds of the season-opening Nick Watney Invitational Monday at Fort Washington Country Club.
 
In the second round of the day, Zhao fired a school-record 62. The Anteaters' previous 18-hole best was a 63 (-7) by Pete Fernandez in 2015. Zhao, who started on the fifth hole, got to 7-under with five birdies and an eagle on the par-5, 531-yard 12th. His streak was then snapped with a bogey on the 18th, but he responded with three-straight birdies and a par to close out the round at 9-under.
 
Zhao was hot from the start as he also carded a 5-under 66 in the opening round. For the day, Zhao finished with 14 birdies and one eagle against only two bogeys. He is tied for first with Connor Ries of Saint Mary's with a program-best 36-hole score of 128 (-14).
 
"It was an impressive performance by Darien from the first hole this morning," said head coach Paul Smolinski. "It's the kind of day every competitive golfer dreams of - all aspects of his game were sharp today."
 
Freshman Jason Tang had a solid outing in his collegiate debut. He put together a bogey-free second round to jump 40 spots in the standings. Through 36 holes, Tang is tied for 20th at 3-under 139 (74-65). His 65 is tied for seventh in program history.
 
Sophomores Yaoting Zou (75-72) and Rei Harashima (71-76) are tied for 59th with a 147, while junior Joshua Lane is tied for 79th (156).
 
As a team, the 'Eaters are eighth with a 5-count-4 total of 561 (286-275). Saint Mary's leads the field at 25-under (543).
 
UCI is back in action tomorrow with the final round of the Nick Watney Invitational starting at 8:30 a.m.