LONGVIEW, TEXAS—Central College opened the spring season in third place after play was suspended on the first day of the Pinecrest Invitational men's golf tournament Monday.
           
Players were nearing completion of the second round of the 36-hole day when storms hit Monday evening. Second-round play resumes at 8 a.m. Tuesday with the final 18 holes of the 54-hole tourney starting at 9:30 a.m. at the par-71, 6,609-yard Pinecrest Country Club.
           
Harold Dobernecker (sophomore, Nevada) shot 73 and is tied for sixth place in the individual standings. Lucas Wendel (junior, Le Claire, Pleasant Valley HS) had 74 and is in eighth place, Jake Moffett (sophomore, Mount Pleasant) is tied for 12th at 77, Drake Hamilton (freshman, Westlake, Texas, Keller HS) is tied for 22nd with 79 and Drew Rogers (freshman, Sullivan, Ill.) is tied for 35th with 82.
           
At-large entrant Dustin Haines (junior, Sigourney) shot 80 and is tied for 28th.
           
"I was really pleased with how Harold and Lucas jumped out there," coach Mel Blasi said. "We started off a little show but shook off the rust as the day went on."
           
Schreiner University (Texas) tops the six-team field with 293, Concordia University (Texas) follows at 301, while Central shot 303. East Texas Baptist University is fourth with 308, tourney host LeTourneau University (Texas) is at 314, Centenary College (La.) had 316 and the LeTourneau B team is at 329.
           
Central's second-round score is likely to mirror the first-round result, Blasi said.
           
"I like us have a nice finish to the second round and then play really well in the last round to see what that gets us," Blasi said.
           
Blasi notes that Central is the only team in the field that hasn't had much outdoor practice time during the winter months.
           
"The guys did a nice job of preparing indoors as well as they can," Blasi said. "I think we'd do very well against these teams in another month."
           
Blasi said the course will be good preparation for the American Rivers tourney April 28-30 at the Geneva Golf and Country Club in Muscatine.
           
"I like this golf course, the competition is good and the weather was OK," Blasi said. "It's very similar to the conference course. It's not very long but it has small greens which are hard to hit with long irons when you haven't been playing much."