PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The Washington State University men's golf team is tied for third after shooting 6-over par (290) in the first round of the Saint Mary's Invitational, Monday, at Poppy Hills Golf Course.

On a cool and windy day, the Cougars carded 12 birdies in the opening round and are tied with Santa Clara, 11 strokes back of leader Saint Mary's (-5, 279).

“We trail Saint Mary's by 11 and San Diego State by three, which is mostly all from our par-5 scoring,” WSU head coach Garrett Clegg said.

The Cougars are the highest-ranked Pac-12 team in the tournament, leading Oregon State, tied for eighth (+10, 294), by four strokes and Arizona, in 12th place (+13, 297), by seven strokes. In-state rival Gonzaga (+18, 302) trails WSU by 12 strokes and is currently 14th.

Leading the Cougars is sophomore Derek Bayley, who is in second place, one stroke behind leader San Diego's Alex Chiarella (-4, 67). Bayley finished the first round 3-under par (68), as he birdied five holes and shot even with par on 11 holes. The sophomore from Rathdrum, Idaho shot 1-under par (35) on the front nine and 2-under par (33) on the back nine.

“Derek's round was great,” Clegg said. “He played awesome all day and was never in trouble.”

Sophomore Zach Anderson eagled on the ninth hole and finished the round 2-over (73). Anderson is currently tied for 23rd, along with senior Evan Omelia, who birdied two holes on the front nine. 

Junior Nick Mandell is tied for 60th after ending the day 5-over (76), sitting two strokes ahead of freshman Aaron Whalen. Whalen opened the tournament tied for 72nd, shooting a 78 (+7) over the first 18 holes.

The tournament continues Tuesday with teams teeing off for the second round at 7:30 a.m. and concludes Wednesday. Visit birdiefire.com for live updates. A full recap from the day will be posted at wsucougars.com at the conclusion of the round.