Feb. 25, 2012

Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate Results (Day 1)

PALM DESERT, Calif. -The 29th-ranked Baylor men's golf team is in eighth place - 10 strokes behind the leader - Saturday after the first round at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. Saturday's second round was suspended due to darkness with two holes remaining; play will resume at 9:30 a.m. CST Sunday.

Baylor shot a 1-over 289, two strokes behind No. 50 Texas Tech and No. 15 Texas A&M, which are in a sixth-place tie at 1-under 287. The Bears have a two-stroke cushion over ninth-place SMU (3-over 291). After a first-round 9-under 279, No. 14 UNLV owns a one-stroke lead over No. 2 Auburn (8-under 280). No. 19 Kent State is third at 6-under 282, followed by No. 44 Saint Mary's (4-under 284) and UT Arlington (3-under 285).

"The weather was perfect - you couldn't have asked for anything better - but the course is not easy," head coach Greg Priest said. "The greens are good and you can make some birdies. We played alright Saturday; we just weren't making enough birdies."

Auburn's Niclas Carlsson shot a first-round 6-under 66 and holds a one-stroke lead over teammate Blayne Barber, UNLV's Kevin Penner and Kent State's Cory Conners at 5-under 67. Eighteen other golfers finished the first round under-par.

Joakim Mikkelsen, Lorenzo Scotto and Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen are tied for 23rd after all three shot an even-par 72 in the first round. Redshirt freshman Niclas Mansson is tied for 34th at 1-over 73, while junior Ryan O'Rear is tied for 87th at 5-over 77.

"With the great conditions, there are going to be some teams playing well," Priest said. "We're right in the hunt. On Sunday, we will need to put the finishing touches on the second round and get it going for the final 18 holes."

The final round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate will begin immediately following the conclusion of the second round Sunday.