ORLANDO, Fla. – The Chico State men’s golf team turned in a solid effort Sunday in the first round of the Golfweek Division II Spring Invitational, carding a collective 9-over par 297 and claiming a share of fourth place in the three-day, 54-hole event at Reunion Resort’s Independence Course. The Wildcats placed two golfers in the individual top 10 – Lucas Delgado heads into Monday’s second round tied for second with a 1-under 71, while Kyle Souza is tied for 10th with a 1-over par 73.

Chico State, the top school in Golfstat’s head-to-head national rankings and No. 4 in the current Golf World/Nike Division II Coaches Poll, briefly led the 18-team field before settling into a three-way tie for fourth place with the University of West Florida and Nova Southeastern University. Lander University sits atop the team standings with a 3-over par 291, followed by Lynn University at 4-over 292 and Queen’s University of Charlotte, which posted a 7-over 295.

Delgado, the reigning California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Player of the Year who struggled in three tournaments last fall, effectively played the par-72, 6,892-yard Independence Course Sunday, with just two front-nine bogies to blemish an otherwise consistent 18 holes of golf. Delgado shot a 3-under par 33 on the back nine, with birdies on the 10th, 13th and 17th to finish at 1-under 71.

Kyle Souza birdied his first two holes of the Spring Invitational, then bogeyed four of his next 10 holes before shooting 1-under par over his last five holes to post a 1-over 73 for the day.

Sylvester Gama finished the Spring Invitational’s opening round tied for 33rd place with a 4-over par 76, while Wildcat teammate Eric Frazzetta shot a 5-over 77 for a share of 47th place. Brandon Harkins’ three birdies were the highlights of an 8-over par round of 80, leaving him in a tie for 70th place on the individual leaderboard.

Steven Brame of Lynn University leads the 90-player field with a first round 5-under par 67.

TEAM LEADERBOARD WITH INDIVIDUAL PLAYER SCORES