April 5, 2004

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Fresh off a third-place finish at the CSU Invitational over the weekend, the men's golf team ended the first day of play tied for 15th at the Belmont Invitational with a 602 total after two rounds. The Vikings struggled to a 308 in the opening round, but recovered nicely with a 294 in the afternoon -- the biggest improvement of any of the 19 teams competing at the par-71 Legends Club.

Freshman Mike Rutgers (Kingsville, Ontario/Cardinal Carter) led CSU with a 146, including a team-low 71 in the second round, and stands in a tie for 22nd. Senior Billy Houle (Joliette, Quebec/Georges Vanier) played consistently, shooting 73-74 and is tied for 28th.

Adam Cox (139) and Daniel Sloan (140) posted the top two scores on day one to put Wofford in the overall lead with a 566 -- six shots ahead of Tennessee State.

Action concludes with 18 holes on Tuesday morning.

CSU Individual Scores:
T22 Mike Rutgers 75-71--146
T28 Billy Houle 73-74--147
T65 Ben Grandy 80-73--153
78 Mike Bognar 80-76--156
93 Cody Harris 80-83--163