BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The UC San Diego men's golf team opened the 2009-10 season on Monday, playing the first two rounds of the 38th annual Western Washington Invitational at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club. The Tritons are currently in 11th place out of 14 teams heading into Tuesday's third and final round.

Head coach Mike Wydra's squad shot a 14-over par 302 in the afternoon following a 23-over 311 in the opening round for a two-round total of 613.

British Columbia, which won the WWI title in 2007, leads by four shots at 570 with rounds of 288 and 282. Chico State is second at 574, finishing with the day's best round of 9-under 279 following an opening 295, while Grand Canyon is third at 578 (289-289) and Saint Martin's is fourth at 579 (285-289).

Individually, British Columbia's Conrado Paderes (70-68), Chico State's Kyle Souza (68-70), and Grand Canyon's Daniel Harrington (70-68) are tied atop the leaderboard with identical 36-hole totals of 6-under par, 138. Dixie State's Cameron Crawford is one stroke back at 139 (73-66).

Sophomore Michael Tilghman led the way for the Tritons with a two-round total of 148 (75-73), which places him in a tie for 27th place after the tournament's first day. Junior Keith Okasaki is in a tie for 50th place at 153 (77-76), while Raj Samra's 154 (79-75) and Austin Alfonso's 159 (80-79) were good enough for a share of 52nd and 62nd place, respectively.

The final round begins at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.