DUPONT, Wash. - Northwest Nazarene men's golf hit the links for the first time in the 2021 fall season on Friday, playing the first two rounds of the Saint Martin's Invitational.

With one final round to play on Saturday, the Nighthawks are 10th out of 12 teams after firing rounds of 303 and 296 for a 599 total. NNU is just one stroke behind Bellevue College and nine back of a three-way tie for sixth place between Hawaii Pacific, Hawaii Hilo, and Montana State Billings, so there is plenty of opportunity to move up on the final day.

"We had a good comeback in the second round," said head coach Craig Stensgaard. "The first round was a little rough, but we were much better in the afternoon."

Grayson Giboney is the top performer for NNU through two rounds, sitting in a tie for 19th after rounds of 73 and 74 for a 147 total. Cole Evarts is just one stroke back of Giboney and finds himself in a tie for 24th.

Lane Strand improved by three strokes between rounds on the day, finishing with a 151 and in a tie for 34th. Truman Gregory is two back of him after also making a second round improvement, gaining five strokes. Jack Cook rounds out the five, making an eight-stroke improvement between the first and second rounds.

"Solid play across the board in the second round was nice to see," added Stensgaard.

The final round concludes tomorrow, and then the Nighthawks will be off to Bellingham for the Western Washington Invite on Monday and Tuesday.