The WSU men’s golf team crossed the Columbia River on Oct. 7 to make their way to Corvallis, where they competed in the first two rounds of the Oregon State Invitational Tournament.

Junior Sam Renner had a strong day and led the Cougars through the first day of the tournament. Renner shot four-under in both the first and second rounds and is in second place overall heading into the final day of the tournament. He did not record a single bogey in round two.

Right behind him is freshman Tate Bruggerman. The young Coug opened the day by shooting one-under in the morning round, then fired off one of the best rounds of his collegiate career in the afternoon. Bruggerman notched seven birdies, including birdies on the final two holes, to finish five-under on the round and six-under on the day. He finished day one in third place overall, four strokes off the leader.

Grad student Jakob Chicoyne’s scores formed an even pendulum, as he shot three-over followed by three-under, to give him a combined score of par. Chicoyne recorded only one bogey in his second-round performance.

The rest of the Cougs found themselves above par through day one. Freshman Dylan Burcham shot six over, despite posting four birdies. Sophomore Ben Bordiga and senior Drayton Joseph both finished the day at nine over par, struggling to get into a groove.

Overall, the Cougars finished day one in sixth place as a team. Although it was in many ways an underwhelming team performance, individual standouts from Renner and Buggerman gave the Cougs highlights and will keep them competitive for the final round on day two.