Tuesday, May 23, 2017

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – After a second round interrupted by lightning at the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf National Championships, Western Washington is in 17th place with an overall score of 33-over-par 593 at the Reunion Resort

The Vikings teed off from hole 10 to start the second day at Watson Course, which is a 7054-yard Par 70, and recorded a 22-over-par 303. As players were finishing the second round, play was delayed for 45 minutes because of lightning strikes in the area.

Senior Chris Hatch led the Vikings in the second round by matching his first-round score of 3-over-par 73. Hatch recorded two consecutive birdies on holes two and three to go along with four bogeys and one double bogey. He is now in a tie for 46th place overall.

Brett Johnson is WWU’s overall leader with a two-round score of 5-over-par 145 for a tie for 40th place. He remained at an even par through the first 13 holes of the day before recording a double and triple bogey on holes five and six. Johnson had two birdies on the day and a team-best 14 holes at par or better.

Ethan Casto finished before the lightning arrived and shot a 7-over-par 77 in the second round to move into a tie for 71st place. The freshman started and finished the second round strong with four consecutive pars to start the day before recordings pars on the final five holes. After recording bogeys on the 16th, 17th and 18th holes in the first round, Casto recorded pars on his second time through the course.

Jeffrey Marcum also scored a 7-over-par 77 after recording 1-over-par 36 in the first nine holes of the day. Marcum got a birdie on the 15th hole, needing just two shots on the 172-yard hole. Michael Butler was just one stroke over par after the opening nine with birdies on holes 15 and 17. Butler finished with a team-high three birdies, finishing the day with a score of 9-over-par 79.

Stroke play will wrap up on Wednesday. All play will begin at 9 a.m. for the third round. Johnson will tee off from hole 14, while Casto and Hatch will tee off from hole 15. Marcum will begin his day at hole 16 and Butler will be on hole 17 at the start of the action in the final round of the NCAA Division II Championships.