WAIKOLOA, Hawaii – Stanford christened its spring season by collecting an opening-round 7-under 281 Thursday at the Amer Ari Invitational. The Cardinal stands in 12th as the three-day event resumes Friday at the par-72 Waikoloa Kings’ Course, which is playing this week at 7,074 yards.
Oklahoma State leads the pack at 17-under.
Stanford fought the wind and a 20-team field to see a pair of scorers finish in the red, with Cameron Wilson tied for seventh and Patrick Rodgers tied for 21st. Individual Patrick Grimes was in the money with a 68, which would have tied him for 14th and the fifth-best overall score on the day.
Wilson, who teed off on the eighth, started the day with a double bogey but birdied the next pair to get back to even. He went bogey-free for the remainder of the round and dropped three straight birdies on 18-1-2 to finish 5-under at 67.
The double bogey was just the second for Wilson on the season.
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Patrick Rodgers’ 69 came with the aid of an eagle on the 18th while playing the back nine at 3-under.
First-year swingers Maverick McNealy (E) and Viraat Badhwar (+1) held steady for the Cardinal, and both played the front nine at 1-under.
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David Boote recovered from an opening-hole double bogey, but recovered to par the next seven before eventually bumping to 5-over. Boote birdied four of the next five six holes to help finish at 3-over 75.
Competing as individuals, Jim Liu got down to 2-under before finishing with a 1-over 73 and Grimes was spectacular with his 4-under 68 in a round which included only one bogey.