Biola’s inaugural men’s golf team hit the links for the first time ever, placing sixth of six teams at The Master’s Invitational Golf Tournament on Tuesday at Angeles National Golf Club in Sunland, Calif.

The Eagles’ group of five golfers — all of whom were playing in their first collegiate golf tournaments — combined to shoot a 36-hole total of 686. In comparison, Point Loma Nazarene took top honors with a 26-over-par 602.

Biola was led by freshman Greg Bodine, who shot a 21-over 165 on the day, and carded a low round of 77 in the morning session.

Freshman Tim Goodfriend fired a 28-over 172, followed by C.J. Clark II, who shot a 29-over 173. Rounding out the group were seniors Neal Kapur at 178 total and Rob Johnson at 202.

“Today was a great opportunity to learn and see what we need to work on,” Head Coach John Lane said. “It was a long day lasting nearly 11 hours and was something these guys just weren’t used to yet. But I thought the guys conducted themselves well today.”

Bodine explained that the first day was a definite learning experience.

“I think this tournament was all about getting the jitters out,” he said. “The scores don’t reflect how much talent we have. We weren’t expecting to win, but we wanted to get some confidence.”

Bodine admitted the 7,200-yard course was very challenging, but he was actually pleased with his 77 in the morning session. Still, he knows that there is a lot of golf left to play.

“It’s not time to panic if some of us aren’t getting good scores,” he said. “We have a long season ahead of us.” The men’s golf team certainly does have a lengthy season. They compete year-round, from September until as late as May.

As for now, they return to action in three weeks, traveling to Long Beach for the Concordia University Invitational at Skylinks Golf Club on Monday and Tuesday, Oct.15-16.