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.
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.
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.