Wednesday, May 10, 2017

STOCKTON, Calif. --Western Washington men's golf battled tough conditions at the Brookside Country Club in the NCAA Division II West/South Central Super Regional on Wednesday afternoon and ultimately did enough to secure a berth into the NCAA National Championships.

Western Washington finished in a tie for third place with an overall score of 17-under-par 847 to advance to the national tournament held on May 22-26 in Kissimee, Florida. The Vikings carded a score of 1-under-par 287 in the final round of their 19th trip to the super regional.

The Vikings were led in the third round by senior Brett Johnson, who shot a 3-under-par 69 to finish the competition in a tie for sixth place individually. Johnson fired five birdies, including four on the back nine for his second consecutive round under 70.

Chris Hatch made the biggest leap forward on the leaderboard of any of the Vikings after carding a 2-under-par 70 to finish the super regional in a tie for 15th place. The senior recorded three birdies over a stretch of six holes on the back nine to help WWU preserve a one-stroke lead over Cal State Monterey Bay.

Michael Butler shot a 2-over-par 74 in the final round to finish in a tie for 31st place. Cody Roth equaled that third-round score after registering birdies on three of the first four holes to help him finish in a tie for 101st place at the tournament.

Simon Fraser was represented individually by junior Chris Crisologo, who finished the tournament in a tie for 11th place, missing a spot in the national tournament by just five strokes.

The GNAC Golfer of the Year shot a 2-under-par 70 in the final round with four birdies on the back nine. Crisologo took a double bogey on the 16th hole, but quickly got those strokes back with birdies on both the 17th and 18th holes. He finished third among golfers that qualified for the event individually.