Colorado Springs, Colo.----- For the first time in John Kennaday's San Jose State University head coaching tenure, he is dividing his attention to his team playing in two golf tournaments at the same time. Fortunately for him, the two tournaments are in one general area, the Eisenhower Golf Club on the Air Force Academy campus.
And with the start the Spartans had on the first day of the season-opening tournament, Coach Kennaday may look to find more similar opportunities for his team.
A FIRST SINCE OCTOBER 2019
The San Jose State team is in second place after the first round of the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational with a five under par 283 score. For the first time since the second round of the 2019 Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational, the Spartans' four counting scores from the five-player lineup were at level par or were under par.
Carl Corpus led the way with a three-under par 69. Corpus had five birdies and two bogeys and birdied his last hole, the par 5, 587-yard ninth hole to reach three-under par for the round. Caleb Shetler and Kristopher Stiles, Corpus' teammates from a year ago, each shot a one-under 71. Shetler matched Corpus with five birdies.
Freshman Zubair Firdaus from Malaysia via Dubai was the steadiest Spartan on the day with 14 pars and two birdies for his even par 72 in his major college debut. San José State did not count the 75 from University of Hawaii transfer Kotaro Murata.
The Spartans' 283 team score was one of only three under par in the 21-team field. UC Davis holds a four stroke lead over San Jose State with its 279. Denver is third at 286. Wyoming at 289 and Nevada at 290 round out the top-five teams heading into second round of three on September 11.
Jackson Solem of Denver is the individual leader with a 66. Corpus is tied for fifth with one of the four scores of 69. Only 24 players in the 105-player field matched or bettered par for the first 18 holes on the Blue course.
THE SPARTAN COACH LIKED WHAT HE SAW
"The courses are in absolute fantastic shape. The Air Force Academy and the greens crew should be commended. Like many of the courses we play, if you hit the ball to the wrong place on the green, you will pay the price. The Eisenhower courses test every club in your bag," said Kennaday, who also mentioned the Spartans dealt with wind on their second nine holes and adjusting to playing at close to 7,000 feet elevation.
"We stuck to our game plan and moved on brilliantly today. This is a solid squad. This team is coming together quickly and they're very determined. Last year was very hard. They made great gains in a number of different areas and we got a little glimpse of it today."
1-2 MINING FOR SILVER
Kennaday also was encouraged by the five Spartans playing in the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational individual tournament on the Eisenhower Golf Club silver course. Though not as long as the blue course, 45 golfers faced the same tests on the 6,401 yard silver course.
Seniors Vijay Srinivasan and Matt Heitel did the best job of figuring out the course. Srinivasan is the individual tournament leader with a four-under 68. Heitel is right behind him at three-under par 69. Freshman Nick Watts making his major college debut posted a 73. Luigi Wong 78's and R.J. Cesario's 80 rounded out the scores for the five Spartans playing the silver course for three days.
Results from the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational men's golf team tournament
Eisenhower Golf Club blue course, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Par 72, 7,541 yards
18 of 54 holes played
Team scores
| 1. UC Davis | 279 |
| 2. San Jose State | 283 |
| 3. Denver | 286 |
| 4. Wyoming | 289 |
| 5. Nevada | 290 |
| 6. Northern Colorado | 291 |
| UTEP | 291 |
| 8. Utah Valley | 294 |
| UNLV | 294 |
| 10. Colorado | 297 |
| 11. CSU Northridge | 298 |
| 12. Weber State | 299 |
| 13. New Mexico State | 300 |
| 14. George Washington | 303 |
| Northern Iowa | 303 |
| 16. SIU Edwardsville | 304 |
| 17. Southern Illinois | 306 |
| 18. Utah State | 307 |
| 19. Army West Point | 309 |
| 20. Air Force | 312 |
| 21. Southern Utah | 318 |
| Leading Individuals | |
| 1. Jackson Solem, Denver | 66 |
| 2. Greg Yellin, UTEP | 67 |
| T.J. Shehee, Northern Colorado | 67 |
| 4. Thomas Hutchinson, UC Davis | 68 |
| 5. Carl Corpus, San Jose State | 69 |
| Blake Brothers, CSU Northridge | 69 |
| Kai Iguchi, Utah Valley | 69 |
| Jacob Westberg, UC Davis | 69 |
| Other San Jose State scores | |
| 10. Kristopher Stiles | 71 |
| 10. Caleb Shetler | 71 |
| 14. Zubair Firdaus | 72 |
| 46. Kotaro Murata | 75 |
Results from the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational men's golf individual tournament
Eisenhower Golf Club silver course, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Par 72, 6,402 yards
18 of 54 holes played
| Leading individuals | |
| 1. Vijay Srinivasan, San Jose State | 68 |
| 2. Matt Heitel, San Jose State | 69 |
| 3. Cliff Thompson, George Washington | 70 |
| Patrick Azevedo, Wyoming | 70 |
| 5. Cade McLaughlin, Wyoming | 71 |
| Connor Motherway, Nevada | 71 |
| Other San Jose State Scores | |
| 12. Nick Watts | 73 |
| 34. Luigi Wong | 78 |
| 41. R.J. Cesario | 80 |