The Seattle University men’s golf team posted solid scores in the first round of the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational at the Colorado National Golf Club, but two lightning delays forced the second round to be halted Monday.
With the players only able to complete about a third of their second rounds, tournament organizers have decided to reduce it to a 36-hole event, with everyone completing their final rounds Tuesday. Play was suspended at 2:10 p.m. Mountain time for the first weather delay, resumed just over two hours later, and suspended again after another hour of play. The call to end play for the day was made at approximately 5:45 p.m. local time.
Kyle Cornett (Mill Creek, Wash.) shot 69 (-3) in Monday’s first round to lead the Redhawks, ending the opening round in a tie for fourth place. Starting on the 12th hole, Cornett birdied three of his first five holes, and then added another birdie on the eighth hole before a bogey on the 10th hole led to his first-round total.
Joe Harvie (Orting, Wash.) also earned three birdies over his first 14 holes of the day, but three bogeys in the final four holes led to an opening-round even-par 72, good enough for a tie for 26th place. Shane Wathanasaynee (Los Alamitos, Calif.) played a steady first round with 16 pars and just two bogeys, finishing the round in a tie for 42nd place at two-over-par 74.
Ahren Young (Renton, Wash.) also shot two-over-par 74 in the first round, featuring a birdie on the 626-yard par-five second hole. Ross Kukula (Ocean Park, Wash.) shot 77 (+5) in the opening round, placing him in a tie for 75th place after the first 18 holes of the tournament.
As a team, Seattle U combined for a first-round score of one-over-par 289, tied with Towson University for seventh place, but just one stroke behind sixth-place UTSA and only two strokes behind a tie for fourth place between San Diego and Houston Baptist. Host school Colorado raced out to a six-stroke lead over second-place UMKC, thanks in part to individual leader David Oraee, who shot 64 (-8) for a one-stroke advantage over UMKC’s Mitch Tucker.
As mentioned above, the second and now final round of the tournament will conclude Tuesday starting at 9:30 a.m. local time.