NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - The Washington State men's golf team started strong on the first day of the Anteater Invitational at Newport beach Calif., holding fourth place through the first round before play had to be suspended late in the second round due to darkness, Monday. 

"It was good to get back in the swing of things," head coach Dustin White said. "We had some really good stretches of holes, and the guys showed resilience and maturity in bringing it back after a shaky start." 

The Cougars currently have a score of 560 (+12) with members of the team on the 16th 17th and 18th holes in the second round. Washington State sits just 3 strokes behind Santa Clara, and has a chance to move in front of them before the conclusion of the second round Tuesday morning, putting them in the top 3. 

Cal State Fullerton currently leads the pack as the only team under par with a score of 538 (-3) with 13 holes remaining in the second round. Grand Canyon is in second with a two-round score of 580 (+4), and Santa Clara (+7, 583) is in third. Both teams finished the second round before the delay. 

Junior Daniel Kolar is currently leading the way for the Cougars only two above par in the first round and currently even in the second with two holes remaining while attempting to hold a tie for 12th. Senior AJ Armstrong who is in a tie for 26th, with a two-round score of 151, as one of two Cougars who finished the second round before the delay. He shot a 72 in the second round, a seven-stroke improvement on his first-round score. Senior Grant Cole was another shining light for the Cougars as the course got dark, being the only Cougar to shoot under par. He is currently three under par in the second round with three holes to go, and is in a tie for 16th. Junior Nicklaus Chiam has one hole remaining and will try to solidify his 21st place tie with Scott Redelsperger with a two-round score of 149 (+5). 

"After seeing the course a couple more times, tomorrow will be a good opportunity to continue to build on the momentum we had toward the end of today's rounds," White said. 

The second round will resume Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. The third round will follow immediately after with pairings staying the same. Live stats will be posted on golfstat.com and full recaps of the day's events will be posted on wsucougars.com at the end of competition.

Team Scores
T12    Daniel Kolar                74(+2)    E (16)
T16    Grant Cole                  78(+6)    -3 (15)
T21    Nicklaus Chiam          76(+4)    +1 (17)
T21    Scott Redelsperger    74(+2)    +3(18)
T26    AJ Armstrong             79(+7)    72(E)