March 8, 2013

Golfstat Live Scoring

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Stanford is in second place at two-under-par 286, just one stroke behind California, on Friday in the first round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters.

Sophomore Patrick Rodgers led the tournament with a six-under-par 66 after opening with two consecutive birdies and firing three more to end the front nine at five under. Two more birdies and a bogey on the back nine left Rodgers with a two-stroke lead.

"On the front nine I just tried to take what the golf course gave me," said Rodgers who hit 12 fairways and had 26 putts. "The wind laid down a bit and the greens were receptive so the course offered a few early birdies. I hit a lot of quality shots, controlled the ball well and converted the putts to get it going early."

Under cold, windy, rainy conditions, where some sleet covered the ground and the tournament had to call a rain delay, only Stanford and California shot under par.

"We had a great team contribution all the way around and I'm confident Steve Kearney will be in there for us in the next few days," said The Knowles Family Director of Golf Conrad Ray. "We know there's a lot of golf left and we're going to continue to control the things we can control, picking good clubs and having good strategy on the course."

Another Cardinal front-runner was Cameron Wilson who shot a 71 to tie for seventh. The junior birdied the second, seventh, 10th and 16th holes for a solid performance.

Senior Andrew Yun tied for 19th at 73 after two early bogeys and a birdie over the front nine. Then he overcame a late bogey by making a birdie on his last hole for one over.

Rounding out the field was freshman David Boote who tied for 51st at 76 and Kearney at 83, tying for 78th. Boote, who was six under, managed to make an eagle on his last hole to finish four under.

The second round resumes on Saturday at 8 a.m. Tee times off the first and 10th holes.

"It is always nice to be in the lead individually but we are one behind in the team event," said Rodgers. "Team golf is nice because it can really clean your slate individually and you can go out and play aggressively in an effort to shoot the best team score possible."

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