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MARICOPA, Ariz. - Sophomore Tyler Bruneau delivered the best round of his career, firing a seven-under par 65 to help Rhode Island go 14-under as a team in the opening round of the National Golf Invitational Friday.

Bruneau's incredible round included two eagles in a span of three holes on the back nine. He needed just two shots on the par-four 14th, and then three shots on the par-five 16th. He also had four birdies and just one bogey for the round.

"It was a wonderful day of golf for us," Rhode Island head coach Gregg Burke said. "Tyler was truly special out there and Josiah Tong has continued to play the level of golf we knew he could get to when we recruited him. Aidan O'Donovan was the Aidan we've come to rely on all year."

Bruneau is in third place on the individual leaderboard. He is one shot off the pace of Wyoming's Brody Leid and Grand Canyon's Gavin O'Neill. Leid and O'Neill both shot 8-under par 64 to top the 50-player field.

Rhode Island's balance throughout the lineup was exceptional, as all five URI players were shot par or better. In addition to Bruneau's minus-seven, junior Josiah Tong was five-under par and Aidan O'Donovan was two-under par. Luke Stennett and Tony Liu both shot an even-par 72. Stennett got hot late, sinking three birdies over the final six holes.

"We had to take just six bogies today, which is tremendous team golf," Burke said. "When you consider we had to come the further distance to get here and the three teams with us among the top four all come from warm weather climates year-round, this was a great effort.

"We understand that this was a great score but we also understand we can and need to play even better to be in the final group on Sunday."

In the opening round, Rhode Island was grouped with the top-ranked team in the tournament, Missouri. Rhody did not back down from the Tigers, who lead the team standings after shooting an 18-under par 270 as a team. All five Missouri players were under par for the day, led by Virgilio Paz (minus-4 68). Trent Mierl, Esteban Cruz Bonilla and Brock Snyder all were three-under par for the Tigers, who lead the field by four strokes.

Grand Canyon of the West Coast Conference is in second place at 17-under par (271), just three strokes ahead of the Rams and Nevada, both of which shot 14-under par (274).  

Bruneau, Tong, O'Donovan and Liu were all clean on the front nine. The quartet combined for seven birdies and no bogeys on the first half of the course.

Bruneau said the team is having a great experience in its second visit to the NGI in as many seasons.

It is awesome because this is after the school year is all done. There are no worries and we are just out there playing golf and having fun with your teammates," Bruneau told Cameron Jourdan of GolfWeek Magazine after the round. "The course is in great shape, and this is a great place to host an event like this. We're having a lot of fun."

Rhode Island's players will be paired with Nevada in the second round on Saturday. The Rams are scheduled to tee off at 11:45 a.m. EST.

National Golf Invitational
Team Standings (Through Round One)
1. Missouri - 270
2. Grand Canyon - 271
t3. Rhode Island - 274
t3. Nevada - 274
5. Mercer - 280
6. Wyoming - 285
7. William and Mary - 284
8. Tennessee Tech - 288
9. Augusta - 291
10. North Alabama - 292