Friday, October 29, 2021

Simon Fraser freshman Bailey Bjornson brought his A-game for all three days of the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate in Waikoloa, Hawaii from Oct. 25-27. Bjornson posted three identical rounds of 69 on the par-70 course to finish tied for third at 3-under-par 207, lifting Simon Fraser to a fourth-place team finish a competitive 12-team field.

Saint Martin’s senior Tyler Fitchett also made an appearance in the top 10 at Dennis Rose, also carding a 69 on the final day to finish with a score of 3-over-par 213 and place 10th. The Saints closed with a 285, the second-lowest team score of the final day, to finish with a 54-hole team score of 881 to solidify ninth place.

Earlier on, Western Washington recorded a pair of solid team finishes at the Chico State Wildcat Classic from Oct. 11-12 and the Otter Invitational in Seaside, California from Oct. 18-19.

The Vikings finished second in the 10-team Wildcat Classic with a 36-hole team score of 606 and sixth at the Otter Invitational with a 54-hole score of 902. Conrad Brown and Aidan Thain were the program’s top performers, shooting 6-over-par 150 to tie for fourth at the Wildcat Classic and then tying for 17th, along with teammate Jordan Lee, by carding 10-over-par 226.

Also in action was Montana State Billings, who finished ninth at the Wildcat Classic, and Northwest Nazarene, who placed 15th at the Otter and 11th at the Dennis Rose. Montana State Billings also soundly defeated Rocky Mountain College in the Mike Grob Cup, an annual match-play exhibition between the crosstown rivals, with the Yellowjackets prevailing 15-9.

The fall golf season is now complete. Western Washington will be the first team to compete in the spring, traveling to Vista, California for the CSUSM Fujikara Invitational from Feb. 14-15.

PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS

Chico State Wildcat Classic (Oct. 11-12 at The Links at Rolling Hills, Corning, Calif.): Team - 1, Stanislaus State, 597. 2, Western Washington, 606. 3, Academy of Art, 618. 9, MSU Billings, 636. Individual - 1, Matthew Watkins, Academy of Art, 146. 2, Brad Sperrer, Stanislaus State, 147. 3, Chris Ebster, Stanislaus State, 148. T-4, Conrad Brown, Western Washington, 150. T-4, Aidan Thain, Western Washington, 150. T-11, Jordan Lee, Western Washington, 152. T-15, Cody Oakes, Western Washington, 155. T-20, Cole Reynolds, Western Washington, 157.

Otter Invitational (Oct. 18-19 at Bayonet Golf Course, Seaside, Calif.): Team - 1, Cal St. San Bernardino, 889. 2, UC-Colorado Springs, 890. T-3, Cal St. Monterrey Bay, 893. T-3, Chico State, 893. 6, Western Washington, 902. 15, Northwest Nazarene, 961. Individual - 1, Matthew Pennington, Cal St. San Marcos, 213. 2, Chris Colla, Chico State, 217. T-3, Barrett Jones, UC-Colorado Springs, 218. T-3, Mark Williams, Cal St. San Bernardino, 218. T-17, Conrad Brown, Western Washington, 226. T-17, Aidan Thain, Western Washington, 226. T-17, Jordan Lee, Western Washington, 226.

Dennis Rose Intercollegiate (Oct. 25-27 at Waikoloa Beach Course, Waikoloa, Hawaii.): Team - 1, Colorado Christian, 839. 2, Western New Mexico, 849. 3, Cal St. San Bernardino, 857. 4, Simon Fraser, 861. 9, Saint Martin’s, 881. 11, Northwest Nazarene, 907. Individual - 1, Cam Sandland, Colorado Christian, 203. 2, Brian Nielsen, Cal St. San Bernardino, 206. T-3, Bailey Bjornson, Simon Fraser, 207. T-3, Keita Okada, Hawaii Pacific, 207. 10, Tyler Fitchett, Saint Martin’s, 213. T-21, Jordan Bean, Simon Fraser, 218. T-21, Cole Evarts, Northwest Nazarene, 218. T-21, Aidan Goodfellow, Simon Fraser, 218.

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• Montana State Billings finished ninth at the Chico State Wildcat Classic with a 36-hole team score of 636, six strokes behind eighth-place Holy Names.
• Senior Riley Kaercher paced the Yellowjackets in Corning, shooting an even-par 72 in the second round and finished at 158 with a share of 23rd place. Sophomore Liam Clancy was a stroke behind at 159, tying for 25th.
• The other MSUB golfers – Blake Finn, Riley Lawrence and Caleb Trost – all finished at 161, tying for 36th place. Lawrence had a low round of 74.
• Each Yellowjacket golfer improved by at least seven strokes from the first day to the second day, and as a team, MSUB improved by 40 strokes from their first-day total on the final 18 holes.
• In addition, the Yellowjackets defeated crosstown rivals Rocky Mountain College in the Mike Grob Cup, an annual match-play exhibition between the schools. Billings left little doubt about the result, beating the Battlin’ Bears 15-9. The Yellowjackets won 5.5-0.5 in six four-ball matches, split six alternate shot matches 3-3 then prevailed in 12 singles pairings 6.5-5.5.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene placed 15th at the Otter Invitational with a 54-hole score of 961. The next week, the Nighthawks improved to a 54-hole team score of 907 to come in 11th at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate.
• Senior Tyler Joplin had the best Nighthawk performance at the Otter, shooting a low round of 76 on his way to a score of 237, tied for 57th place. Sophomore Lane Strand also managed a round of 76, finishing tied for 65th at 239. Sophomores Jack Cook and Cole Evarts were one stroke behind Strand at 240, tying for 69th. Evarts competed as an individual in the event.
• The top three for the Nighthawks was the same at the Dennis Rose, with Evarts leading the way this time. Evarts utilized a 1-under-par 69 in the second round to finish in a tie for 21st place at 8-over-par 218.
• While Evarts had the lowest score at the end of the tournament, the lowest NNU round went to Strand, who carded a 67 on the second day. Strand finished six strokes behind Evarts at 224, tying for 38th place. Cook was a further 10 strokes behind, placing tied for 57th at 234 with a low round of 76.

SAINT MARTIN’S

• Saint Maritn’s finished in ninth place at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate with a 54-hole team score of 881, one stroke behind eighth-place Cal St. Dominguez Hills and 12 strokes ahead of 10th-place Texas-Tyler.
• The Saints saved the best for last, shooting 285 as a team in the final round, their best team score by nine strokes.
• Reigning GNAC Men’s Golf Player of the Year Tyler Fitchett broke into the top 10 for the Saints, finishing at 3-over-par 213 with a low round of 1-under-par 69 for 10th place.
• The second-highest Saint was senior Dennis Geissler, 10 strokes behind at 223. Geissler shot a low round of 73 and tied for 35th place. He was followed closely by redshirt senior Nick Baker, who carded a 225 and tied for 40th. Carter Sheets, who shot a 229, and Ethan Finau, who shot a 235, wrapped up the Saints’ five.

SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser finished fourth at the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate with a 54-hole team score of 861, four strokes behind third-place Cal St. San Bernardino.
• Freshman Bailey Bjornson stayed consistent all tournament long. Bjornson carded three rounds of 69 to finish at 3-under-par 207, tying for third with Hawaii Pacific’s Keita Okada. Bjornson was the only golfer in the tournament to break 70 in each round.
• Juniors Jordan Bean and Aidan Goodfellow were next on the leaderboard, carding an 8-over-par 218 and finishing tied for 21st. Both Bean and Goodfellow acheived a low round of 71. Ryan Stolys tied for 29th, just two strokes behind his fellow SFU juniors at 220, while freshman Ryan Hodgins was another two strokes back at 222. Hodgins carded a low round of 73 on his way to a tie for 32nd place.
• Simon Fraser shot between 285 and 290 in all three rounds, and were fifth and sixth as a team after the first two rounds before finishing fourth.

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• Western Washington achieved a second-place finish at the Chico State Wildcat Classic with a 36-hole team score of 606, nine strokes behind winners Stanislaus State. A week later at the Otter Invitational, the Vikings placed sixth with a 54-hole team score of 902. Once again, the Vikings trailed Stanislaus State, who came six strokes ahead in fifth.
• Conrad Brown and Aidan Thain had different round scores, but found a way to finish even in both of the Vikings’ tournaments. At the Wildcat Classic, the pair tied for fourth place at 6-over-par 150. Brown carded a low round of 73, while Thain shot a 71 on the second 18 holes to catch his teammate.
• At the Otter Invitational, Brown and Thain tied for 17th place at 10-over-par 226. This time, they were joined by teammate Jordan Lee, who carded a low round of 71 on his way to the same score of 226.
• Outside of Brown and Thain, Western Washington’s second place team showing was boosted by three other top-20 finishes at the Wildcat classic. Lee tied for 11th at 8-over-par 152, Cody Oakes tied for 15th at 155 and Cole Reynolds tied for 20th at 177. Lee and Oakes each shot their low rounds of 73 on the final day to cement their top-20 standing.