Oregon State
Amer Ari Invitational
Kumpula Fires Career-Best Round In Hawai'i
February 05, 2016 | Men's Golf
WAIKOLOA, Hawai'i – Conner Kumpula fired a career-best 6-under 66 in the opening round of the 25th Annual Amer Ari Invitational on Thursday to lead the Oregon State men's golf team in their first tournament of the spring season.
Kumpula, a junior from Albany, Ore., had six birdies and an eagle at the par-72, 7,074-yard Waikoloa Kings' Course to put him in first place in the 115-player field with 36 holes to play. David Boote of Stanford is a stroke back after a 5-under 67 and five golfers are two strokes back after opening with a 4-under 68.
The Beavers held the lead in the 18-team late in the day before some big numbers down the stretch dropped them into a tie for eighth place with a 2-under 286. Pac-12 teams hold down the top four spots, led by Stanford and USC, which both shot a 10-under 278.
The second round of the three-day, 54-hole tournament will begin at 7:30 a.m. Hawai'i time (9:30 a.m. PT) on Friday with a shotgun start. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com.
Kumpula started on the 11th hole and carded three consecutive pars before dropping back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15. He birdied the 18th, first and third holes before an eagle on the par-5, 513-yard fourth got him to 7 under. After a double bogey on the par-3 seventh, he ended the round with two pars and a birdie on his 18th hole for a 6-under 66.
His previous career best was a 4-under 67 in the second round of the Husky Invitational this past fall.
Senior Tyler Carlson and freshman Trevor Yu both had four birdies and three bogeys to finish in red figures with a 1-under 71 for a tie for 29th place. It was the first career sub-par round for Yu, who competed with the team in one of the four fall tournaments, the Saint Mary's Invitational, where he finished in a tie for 53rd place with a 14-over 75-74-78--227.
Junior Kevin Murphy and sophomore Jonas Liebich each had a couple of big numbers that hurt their opening round. Murphy finished with a 6-over 78 for a tie for 103rd and Liebich was a stroke back with a 7-over 79 for a tie for 110th.
Junior Calum Hill, who is competing as an individual, had three birdies and five bogeys to card a 2-over 74 to put him in a tie for 71st place.
