Monday, May 22, 2017

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Competing in its first NCAA Division II Men’s Golf National Championships since 2013, Western Washington shot an 11-over-par 291 in the first round to finish Monday’s action in 12th place at Watson Course at the Reunion Resort.

Senior Brett Johnson shot an even-par 70 in the first round to lead the Vikings on the 7054-yard par-70 course. The 20 teams will play 54 holes with the top eight teams all advancing to the quarterfinals, which begin on Thursday. After the first 18 holes, Western Washington is four strokes behind eighth North Alabama and Saint Thomas Aquinas. The Vikings are also a stroke ahead of West/South Central Super Regional champion California Baptist and lead Cal State Monterey Bay by two strokes.

Johnson recorded two birdies on the back nine, including a hole in two on the 12th hole to go 1-under-par 34 on the back nine. He finished the round in a tie for 17th place. On the front nine, the senior didn’t go over par on eight consecutive holes and notched his first birdie of the morning on the fourth hole.

Ethan Casto had his name called for the national tournament after missing both the regional and conference tournaments. The freshman took advantage of the opportunity, carding a 3-over-par 73 in the round. He had three birdies on the first 10 holes and was inside the top 5 on the leaderboard at the time. He finished the day in a tie for 48th going into the second round of stroke play.

While Casto was competing in his first collegiate postseason tournament, Chris Hatch recorded the same score of 3-over-par 73 in the final event of his collegiate career. The senior bounced back from a slow start to tally three birdies on the last 11 holes, including being the only player from the West Region to card a birdie on the tricky hole 11.

Jeffrey Marcum had a strong finish to his day with an even-par 35 on the back nine for a score of 5-over-par 75 in the first round. Marcum had one bogey on the final 11 holes and got a hole in two on the 15th hole to finish the first 18 in a tie for 68th place. Michael Butler rounded out the scoring for the WWU with a 6-over-par 76. Butler tallied 10 pars and shot a birdie on the eighth hole, covering the 581-yard hole in four strokes.

On Tuesday, the Vikings will tee off at noon in Florida. After the second round, the teams will be reseeded for pairing in the final round with the top eight teams advancing to the quarterfinals. The last time the Vikings reached the national tournament, they advanced to the semifinals as the eighth seed over Florida Southern, which is in fourth place this year.