RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. – Sixth after the opening round of the 2017 Pro Compression Invitational, the Western Carolina men’s golf team slipped into ninth place overall before darkness halted play Monday at the par-72, 6,947-yard The Farms Golf Club. Just two holes shy of finishing the second round, Catamount junior Bright Julamool paced the WCU scoring five, sitting amongst a tie for 13th overall.

The Catamounts finished Monday’s opening round in sixth place, just a stroke outside of a two-way tie for fourth place at 8-over-par 296.

Play in the second round will resume at 11:45 a.m. ET and will continue into the third and final round utilizing the same pairings and a shotgun start.

Julamool led the Catamounts through the opening 18 holes, shooting a season-low-tying round of 1-under-par 71 to sit in a tie for 11th. Through 16 holes in the second round, Julamool is 2-over-par.

Junior transfer Dylan MacQueen is tied for 24th overall for WCU at 4-over par with one hole remaining in the second round, while classmate Jackson Bishop jumped five spots in the second round into a tie for 39th at 8-over-par, two holes shy of 36.

Rounding out WCU’s scoring five are sophomore Mark David Johnson in a tie for 46th overall and classmate Lawson King in a tie for 63rd, both two holes shy of completing the second round.

Playing unattached as an individual, sophomore Bradley Durand posted an opening-round score of 5-over-par 77 but he slid into a tie for 58th in the second round. Senior Evan Smith posted a first-round score of 84 and sits in 68th overall with two holes remaining in the second round.

First-round leader UC Santa Barbara continues to hold a 15-stroke advantage over second-place Wichita State.

Individually, UCSB’s Zach Smith jumped two spots in the second round to move into a tie with Yannick Emmert of Wichita State atop the leader board, both at 10-under-par.