Monday, May 8, 2017

Stockton, Calif. – Senior Chris Hatch shot a 5-under-par 67 on the first day of the 2017 NCAA Division II West/South Central Super Regional to lead the Vikings to a fifth-place spot on the leaderboard after round one on Monday afternoon in Stockton, California.

Hatch is tied for fifth place individually after recording three birdies and an eagle with no bogeys at the 6,777-yard par-72 Bookside Country Club. Western Washington needs to finish inside the top three out of 20 teams to advance to the national tournament.

Western Washington shot a 6-under-par 282 in the first round, which is tied with Dixie State and Cal State Monterey Bay for fifth place. Sonoma State and California Baptist are tied for first place at 14-under-par 274. The event lasts three days and covers 54 holes in three rounds.

Brett Johnson also recorded an eagle for the Vikings, doing so on the 18th hole to card a 2-under-par 70. That lands the senior in a tie for 27th place out of 108 competitors. Jeffrey Marcum is in a tie for 54th place with an even-par 72 in the first round. He recorded birdies on the second, fourth and 10th holes.

Michael Butler got off to a hot start for the Vikings with three consecutive birdies during his first nine holes without any bogies. However, a pair of triple-bogeys on the back nine gave Butler an overall score of one-over-par 73. The Vikings scoring was rounded out by Cody Roth, who settled in on the back nine with a 2-over-par 38. His overall score for the day was seven-over-par 79.

Simon Fraser junior Chris Crisologo carded a birdie on his first and final holes of the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division II West/South Central Super Regional to finish Monday’s play in a tie for third place with a score of 4-under-par 68.

Crisologo opened with four birdies in the first 14 holes before recording his first and only bogey on the first day of action. Crisologo is currently two strokes behind Devin Gregg from Sonoma State and Trevor McKune from Colorado Mesa, who are tied for first place at six-under-par 66.

Crisologo finished six strokes ahead of the other two players he was paired with from Stanislaus State and Texas A&M International. The second group of 10 teams in the Super Regional will play the first round in the afternoon. After the conclusion of the first round, the tee times and pairings for the second round will be announced.

Crisologo is one of eight players that were selected to compete individually in the super regional. He is in a tie for second place among golfers from that group. In order to qualify for the national tournament, Crisologo must be among the top two finishers that are from teams which do not finish in the top three as a team in the super regional.

Play will resume on Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m. with the second of three rounds to be played. California Baptist’s Trevor Lampson is atop the individual leaderboard with a score of 10-under-par 62. He recorded five birdies and an eagle without any bogies on the front nine and holds a four-stroke lead going into the second round.