Laramie, Wyo. (Sept. 6, 2019) --  The Wyoming Cowboys came out of the gates fast on Friday, leading for much of the first round of the 2019 Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational before ending the day in second place at 282 (-6) only three strokes behind host Air Force, which finished at 279 (-9).  Wyoming Cowboy junior Carl Underwood fired the best round of his collegiate career, posting a 65 (-7) to take the first day individual lead.  Sophomore Kirby Coe-Kirkham also enjoyed an outstanding opening round, shooting a 68 (-4) to tie for fourth entering Saturday's second round.  Underwood's round of 65 (-7) ties for the sixth best individual round in Wyoming golf history.
 
"I'm proud of our guys.  We put together a solid round today," said Joe Jensen, University of Wyoming Director of Golf and Head Men's Golf Coach.  "I like where we're at, but we have two rounds left.  My biggest goal for our team this first tournament is to just develop good habits for the long haul.  I really appreciate the entire team's attitude today.  We had the lead for most of the first round, and we are still right there at the top heading into the second round tomorrow.
 
"Carl (Underwood) played with a lot of energy and his attitude was outstanding.  I want to see Carl be able to maintain that throughout this week.  He really played well today, but he may have some adversity in the next couple of days and he needs to be able to manage that and continue to play consistently.
 
"We have some new guys in the lineup this year.  Jared Edeen is in the lineup this week, and Liam Clancy, a redshirt freshman, and Bryce Waters, our junior-college transfer, are playing as individuals this week. 
 
"Regardless of the outcome, I want to get the guys back in good tournament habits.  They've been off from college competition all summer and while they've been playing in some high quality amateur events, college competition is different.
 
"At the end of the day, I think our team is a good group.  We are going to get off our feet for the rest of today.  I want our guys to be able to come out with the same energy tomorrow morning that they did this morning."
 
Air Force (279 -9), Wyoming (282 -6) and Northern Colorado, which shot a first round of 284 (-4) were the only three teams in the 18-team field to shoot sub-par rounds on Friday.
 
In the individual competition, Underwood holds a two-stroke lead over Joshua Wu and Isaac Layne both from Air Force.  The two Falcons shot identical rounds of 67 (-5).
 
Cowboy sophomore Tyler Severin opened with a 74 (+2) to tie for 43rd.  Senior Dan Starzinski shot a 75 (+3) and is tied for 60th, while Edeen posted a 77 (+5) to tie for 80th.  Clancy and Waters, playing as individuals, shot round of 75 (+3) and 76 (+4) to tie for 60th and 70th respectively.
 
The tournament is being played on the Eisenhower Golf Club Blue Course at the Air Force Academy.  The course measures 7,511 yards and plays to a par of 72.  The second round will tee off on Saturday morning beginning at 7:30 a.m, followed by the third and final round to be played on Sunday, teeing off at 7:15 a.m.

See complete first round results attached to this story.