Feb. 1, 2012

STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford's men's golf team shot an opening round 282 (-6) and is tied for sixth place after the first round of the Amer Ari Invitational being played at the Kings' Course at the Waikoloa Beach Resort on the Big Island in Hawaii.

The Cardinal is 12 shots off the pace set by top-ranked Texas, which fired a 270 (-18) on Wednesday, good for a five shot lead over UCLA (275) and Washington.

Stanford freshman Patrick Grimes, playing as an individual in this event, carded an opening round 66 and is tied for the first round lead with UCLA's Pontrus Widegran and Washington's Cheng-Tsung Pan.

Grimes birdied three of his first five holes to get off to a fast start and was still three under par through 15 holes. He then collected birdies on each of his final three holes to finish at six-under.

Patrick Rodgers, who is looking for his second collegiate title after winning the Fighting Illini Invitational in September, shot an opening round 67 and is in a seven-way tie for fourth place. His card featured six birdies against just one bogey on the day.

Junior Andrew Yun is tied for 15th after an opening round 69. Yun collected four birdies against just one bogey over his first 18 holes.

Senior David Chung is tied for 26th after an opening round 70 (-2). His up-and-down round included three birdies, one eagle, a bogey and a double bogey. He managed to eagle his final hole of the day, the par-5 second hole, to finish with a 70.

Junior Steve Kearney and sophomore Cameron Wilson are tied for 93rd after opening round scores of 76 (+4).

The Amer Ari Invitational continues on Thursday at Waikoloa's Kings' Course.