NEW PRAGUE, Minn - The No. 23 ranked Gustavus men's golf team started their spring home meet, the Bobby Krig Invite, on Saturday, taking an early lead over a 16-team field in frigid conditions. 

The top Gustavus team leads the field at +12, while the 'B' team sits 12 shots back in 6th place at +24. 

For the top team, sophomore Jimmy Abdo (Edina, Minn.) placed second overall after the first 18 holes, firing a +1 (72), including five birdies. First-year Kyle Peterson (Duluth, Minn.) followed suit, shooting a +2 (73) to sit in fifth. Senior Chris Gutuza (Johannesburg, South Africa) and junior Blake Forrest (Maple Grove, Minn.) rounded off the scoring, with scores of +4 (75) and +5 (76), respectively. 

For the 'B' group, sophomore Aradheea Gawade (Mumbai, India) was the top finisher, sitting tied for second place at +1 (72) using only two birdies and a consistent seven straight pars on holes 10 through 16 to assume his position. First-year Ford Finster (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) was second, in 11th place with a +4 (75). The last two scorers of the day were first-year Zach Havron (Lakeville, Minn.) with a +9 (80) and Pelayo Perez Crespo (Sotogrande, Spain) with a +10 (81). 

Individual Charles Looker (Cottage Grove, Minn.) also competed well, sitting tied for 11th with Finster, Gutuza, and five competitors from other schools by shooting +4 (75). 

"It was a tough battle at New Prague today" said head coach Scott Moe. "Conditions were very tough, the real feel was 16°, which makes it tough to have a lot of feel around the greens. I felt like we had a good strategy in place of trying to just hit the center of the greens and putt to the edges. For the most part, we were fairly successful. Only a third of the way done, but we put ourselves in good position, which was our goal. Really good score by Jimmy and Kyle made birdie on his last hole to slide into the top five. It's always nice to return to our home course tomorrow, 36 holes will be a mental and physical grind, but I think we are up to the task". 

The Gusties continue the Bobby Krig Invite tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. at Le Sueur Country Club, hoping for 36 holes.