Tuesday, April 25, 2017

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Seniors Jeffrey Marcum and Chris Hatch each recorded pars on all of the last three holes to help Western Washington overcome a one-stroke deficit to beat Concordia by one for the Vikings’ eighth GNAC Men’s Golf Championships title in program history on Tuesday at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.

Simon Fraser Chris Crisologo finished the event as the individual tournament champion, shooting an even-par 71 to protect his lead and claim his first GNAC individual title and sixth career title. The junior finished the event at 5-under-par 208 to edge Hatch by two shots. Crisologo tallied three birdies in a stretch of five holes on Tuesday to earn a comfortable lead with eight holes to play.

Western Washington shot a 19-over-par 871 over the three rounds to lead a pack of four teams that finished within four shots of each other. The Vikings trailed Concordia by six strokes going into the final round, but recorded nine birdies in the front nine of the final round to close the gap. Saint Martin’s had the best result of the third round, shooting a 3-over-par 287 to finish in third place at 21-over-par 873. Simon Fraser took fourth place with a score of 9-over-par 875.

The overall team score was tied with Hatch and Concordia’s Nick Huff, playing the final three holes. Hatch recorded a par, while Huff and Crisologo each tallied bogeys. The threesome each carded pars on the final two holes of the event with everyone in attendance crowded around the green to see the final putts. Hatch sunk his putt to secure the one-stroke victory and Western Washington’s second consecutive team title.

Northwest Nazarene was within nine strokes of first place early in the third round, but eventually finished in fifth place with a 40-over-par 892. Montana State Billings took sixth place with a 54-over-par 906.

Simon Fraser had a total of nine holes left to play between Crisologo, Kevin Vigna and Craig Titterington when it trailed Western Washington by just one shot and was tied for second place with Concordia at 18-over-par. That was the closest the Clan got to the team title, however, finishing with four players inside the top 20 in the end.

Saint Martin’s began in the first wave, meaning the Saints finished with a 23-over-par 873 while three of the other top four teams were still on the course. The Saints could only wait to see the final result as they moved up to third place, but eventually finished two shots behind the Vikings. Austin Spicer shot a 1-under-par 70 in the final round and finished in third place overall with a 2-under-par 211.

Huff finished in fourth place overall, maintaining the high level he showed in the first day of action. Huff finished at 1-over-par 214 for his first top-5 finish of the season. He was followed by the Saints’ Trevor Frisby, who recorded a 3-over-par 216 to round out the top five.

Along with Huff, Concordia had two other players finish inside the top 10. Jarred Gomez shot a 5-over-par 218 for seventh place, while Dylan Cramer tied for eighth place with a 6-over-par 219.