Ole Miss leads Warriors at Princeville Invitational

PRINCEVILLE — University of Hawaii golf coach Ronn Miyashiro worried about running out of red ink Sunday morning at theWarrior Princeville Makai Invitational.

“It rained just about the time we started,” Miyashiro said at the Makai Golf Club at Princeville. “The wind was blowing, but now the rains stopped and the wind has dropped off. The grounds are soft and the players are attacking. I’m going to run out of red ink.”

Noah West of No. 25 Mississippi fired a four-under 68 to lead Ole Miss to the top of the leaderboard following the first 18 holes of the 54-hole tournament. He was just one of four Mississippi golfers who fired under-par to lead the team to a 277 following the first round.

West tied with Steven Fisk of Georgia Southern at 68, Fisk leading Georgia Southern to a team 282, five strokes back ofMississippi, and just a stroke ahead of No. 24 Missouri who got a six-under par 66 from Hayden Buckley, its No. 3 golfer.

Mateusz Gradecki of East Tennessee State took the individualist lead, finishing at seven-under par 65. Overall, 22 playersfinished the opening round with under-par scores.

Hawaii’s Cameron Kaneko hit the stick at No. 9 on his second shot, but a two-putt ended giving the UH golfer a par on the hole.

“I didn’t say he’ll hit the hole,” said Gail Oride, a spectator whose son is a Hawaii alumnus golfer. “They been all around the hole and burning the edges.”

Miyashiro joked that the golfers took preventive shots for bogeys, but they must’ve mistaken it for birdies as he watched Skye Inakoshi nabbing a birdie on No. 9 after out-driving his foursome.

Following the opening round, host Hawaii sits at 307, led by Kaneko at 74, two strokes better than Samuel Schwartz (76) and Inakoshi (77). Kauai’s Justin “Pono” Tokioka finished the round at 83, tying with fellow Kauaian Bryden Salvador.

Round 2 continues at the Makai Golf Club at Princeville with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. today.