Safa, USC Men's Golf Lead After First Day of Whirlwind Invitational
September 08, 2025 | Men's Golf
CHANDLER, Ariz. – Antonio Safa opened the Whirlwind Invitational by matching the 12th lowest 36-hole score in USC history at 13-under-par, and the USC men's golf team posted the ninth best single-round score in program history with a 269 in the opening round as the Trojans lead the tournament at 35-under-par after two rounds of play.
Safa holds the individual lead by four strokes at 13-under (131) and USC leads by five strokes after shooting 541 (269-271) on day one of the event. USC's opening round was the lowest for the program since 2019 and was just the 11th round under 270 in program history. Along with Safa, the Trojans have three of the top four players on the individual leaderboard and four players in the Top 10.
"It was a good start for us today," said Head Coach Mark Hankins, who enters his third season at the helm for USC. "We had contributions from the entire team and I feel like we were successful in sticking to our mentality of playing one shot at a time and staying disciplined. Still, we didn't play the par 5 as well as we wanted, and we need to clean up some lines off the tee and stick to our game plan. Tomorrow is a new day, with new feels, so it's on us to adapt and be determined to find our level where we play our best and fight for it all day."
Safa's opening-round 64 was the lowest of his career and the lowest by a Trojan since Jack Buchanan shot a 64 at the Trinity Forest Invitational last season. He followed the 64 with a second-round 67, posting 16 birdies to just three bogeys on the day.
Two more Trojans sit just behind Safa on the individual leaderboard, with Jack Buchanan and Luke Stock currently in a three-way tie for second place with UTEP's Dylan Teeter at 9-under. Buchanan opened with a 66 in the morning and then posted a 69 in the afternoon. Stock, who is competing as an individual at the tournament, shot a 68 in the first round and then improved by a stroke in the afternoon, posting a 67. Stock had just one bogey on the day.
Jaden Dumdumaya also sits in the Top 10 after day one of the tournament, shooting an opening-round 70 and then coming back with a 67 in the afternoon. The sophomore is tied for eighth at 7-under-par after shooting up 14 spots on the leaderboard in the second round.
Playing in his first collegiate tournament, Raghav Gulati opened with a 70 in the morning and then posted a 69 in the afternoon to sit at five-under-par and in a tie for 17th individually. Gulati's 69 in the afternoon was one of USC's four counting scores in the round.
Nicolas Dominguez posted a counting score of 69 in the morning round on Monday, before dropping six strokes in the heat of the afternoon. Dominguez posted six birdies in his first 18 holes of the day. Kai Komulainen is also competing as an individual for the Trojans and he posted a 72 and a 70 to sit two-under.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES:
1. Antonio Safa, -13 (64-67)
T2. Jack Buchanan, -9 (66-69)
T2. Luke Stock (Ind.), -9 (68-67)
T8. Jaden Dumdumaya, -7 (70-67)
T17. Raghav Gulati, -5 (70-69)
T31. Kai Komulainen (Ind.), -2 (72-70)
T39. Nicolas Dominguez, E (69-75)
TEAM LEADERBOARD
Safa holds the individual lead by four strokes at 13-under (131) and USC leads by five strokes after shooting 541 (269-271) on day one of the event. USC's opening round was the lowest for the program since 2019 and was just the 11th round under 270 in program history. Along with Safa, the Trojans have three of the top four players on the individual leaderboard and four players in the Top 10.
"It was a good start for us today," said Head Coach Mark Hankins, who enters his third season at the helm for USC. "We had contributions from the entire team and I feel like we were successful in sticking to our mentality of playing one shot at a time and staying disciplined. Still, we didn't play the par 5 as well as we wanted, and we need to clean up some lines off the tee and stick to our game plan. Tomorrow is a new day, with new feels, so it's on us to adapt and be determined to find our level where we play our best and fight for it all day."
Safa's opening-round 64 was the lowest of his career and the lowest by a Trojan since Jack Buchanan shot a 64 at the Trinity Forest Invitational last season. He followed the 64 with a second-round 67, posting 16 birdies to just three bogeys on the day.
Two more Trojans sit just behind Safa on the individual leaderboard, with Jack Buchanan and Luke Stock currently in a three-way tie for second place with UTEP's Dylan Teeter at 9-under. Buchanan opened with a 66 in the morning and then posted a 69 in the afternoon. Stock, who is competing as an individual at the tournament, shot a 68 in the first round and then improved by a stroke in the afternoon, posting a 67. Stock had just one bogey on the day.
Jaden Dumdumaya also sits in the Top 10 after day one of the tournament, shooting an opening-round 70 and then coming back with a 67 in the afternoon. The sophomore is tied for eighth at 7-under-par after shooting up 14 spots on the leaderboard in the second round.
Playing in his first collegiate tournament, Raghav Gulati opened with a 70 in the morning and then posted a 69 in the afternoon to sit at five-under-par and in a tie for 17th individually. Gulati's 69 in the afternoon was one of USC's four counting scores in the round.
Nicolas Dominguez posted a counting score of 69 in the morning round on Monday, before dropping six strokes in the heat of the afternoon. Dominguez posted six birdies in his first 18 holes of the day. Kai Komulainen is also competing as an individual for the Trojans and he posted a 72 and a 70 to sit two-under.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES:
1. Antonio Safa, -13 (64-67)
T2. Jack Buchanan, -9 (66-69)
T2. Luke Stock (Ind.), -9 (68-67)
T8. Jaden Dumdumaya, -7 (70-67)
T17. Raghav Gulati, -5 (70-69)
T31. Kai Komulainen (Ind.), -2 (72-70)
T39. Nicolas Dominguez, E (69-75)
TEAM LEADERBOARD
| Place | Team | R1 | R2 | Total |
| 1st | USC | 269 | 272 | 541 |
| 2nd | UTEP | 274 | 272 | 546 |
| 3rd | Arkansas State | 270 | 277 | 547 |
| T4th | New Mexico State | 286 | 271 | 557 |
| T4th | James Madison | 279 | 278 | 557 |
| 6th | Eastern Michigan | 276 | 288 | 564 |
| T7th | UT Arlington | 285 | 281 | 566 |
| T7th | Stetson | 284 | 282 | 566 |
| T9th | Georgia State | 281 | 290 | 571 |
| T9th | San Francisco | 281 | 290 | 571 |
| 11th | Northern Colorado | 290 | 291 | 581 |
| 12th | George Washington | 292 | 292 | 584 |
Players Mentioned
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