ELK RIVER, Minn. - The Gustavus men's golf team started their home invite, the Twin Cities Classic, on Saturday and sit in fourth place through 18 holes. 

Sophomore Ford Finster (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) led the team, finishing at -1 at Elk River Country Club, a par 72 course. Finster used five birdies, including two on his last three holes to lift himself into a two-way tie for sixth place through the first day. Classmate Kyle Peterson (Duluth, Minn.) was the second-best scorer for the Gusties, shooting a 75. Peterson, along with all three other scorers, birdied hole 17 and with the birdie put himself tied for 21st. The final two scorers of the day were senior Blake Forrest (Maple Grove, Minn.) and sophomore Charlie Looker (Cottage Grove, Minn.) who both shot +4. Looker in particular had a strong end to his day, playing the last four holes, -3. 

"It took us a while to start scoring and we need to be committed to our shots right away at the start of our rounds," said assistant coach Randall Stuckey. "We've done that too many times and that is keeping us from scoring really well. The guys hung in there today and remained patient after the rough start. It was good to see Ford show some red on his card with five birdies and Charlie posting four birdies, including three birdies in his last four holes. Looking forward to a great round tomorrow at our home course."

Sitting at +10 as a team, Gustavus will travel to their true home course, Le Sueur Country Club, for the second round of the Twin Cities Classic at 10 a.m. tomorrow.