BLAINE, Wash. - Northwest Nazarene men's golf began their second invite of the season just two days after completing their last, playing the first round of the Western Washington Invitational on Monday. 

Through the first 18 holes, NNU is in ninth out of nine teams. Due to weather conditions, only one of the scheduled two rounds for Monday was played, so the tournament will conclude tomorrow with the second round becoming the final round.

"We had a tough day today in a few different ways," said Coach Stensgaard. "Obviously, by looking at how high the scores were across the board the conditions were pretty tough. Lots of wind and some rain at the end. The course is pretty wet, which is why it was shortened to only 18 holes today, instead of 36. It rained all day yesterday and most of the night."

"We lost Tyler [Joplin] to injury early in the round, which is something that rarely happens in golf. So that put pressure on the other four counting players right away, since there is no substitution rule during a round."

Leading the four counting players through one round is Cole Evarts, who shot an 80 to come in at a tie for 37th. Lane Strand is one stroke behind him, tied for 42nd at 81, while Grayson Giboney shot an 85 to tie for 51st. Truman Gregory rounds out the four with a 90 on the day.

"It's a lot to ask of a freshman to be put in that type of situation, especially in such hard course conditions," said Stensgaard regarding Gregory. 

"There was a highlight of the day, though, with Jack Cook. He had a good mindset and played a nice round today."

Playing as an individual, Cook posted the lowest round of any NNU golfer with a 77 to tie for 19th. Chris Palmisciano is also playing as an individual.

"We will see in the morning if Tyler can go," added Stensgaard. "It will be a decision he can make after he warms up and sees how he feels."