Friday, April 22, 2022

INDIANAPOLIS – Western Washington and Simon Fraser, along with Saint Martin’s senior Tyler Fitchett, are packing their bags for Colorado with the three selected to compete in the 2022 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships.

The national field of 80 teams and 32 individuals selected for the tournament field was announced on Friday. The GNAC’s entrants will compete in the West/South Central Regional Championships, which takes place from May 5 through 7 at the Pueblo Country Club in Pueblo, Colorado.

Western Washington earned the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Championships after a dominant performance to win the program’s 10th GNAC Championships title. The Vikings placed all four scoring golfers in the top 10 at the championships for a winning score of 2-over-par 854, 26 strokes ahead of Simon Fraser.

Senior Aidan Thain led the way, earning medalist honors after he shot a conference all-time 54-hole record score of 14-under-par 199. He was under par in all three rounds and tied the GNAC Championships record with a 64 in the second round. Junior Jordan Lee was among three players tied for second with a score of 2-over-par 215.

Western Washington, which was No. 1 in the NCAA’s West Region Rankings for much of the spring, was ranked No. 34 in the latest Golfstat rankings released on Apr. 19. The Vikings rank second in the GNAC with a 292.3 team stroke average with Thain leading individual players with a 72.2 stroke average.

After not being able to compete during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID pandemic, Simon Fraser returned strong to place second at the GNAC Championships with a three-round score of 876 and earned an at-large berth to the regional. Simon Fraser leads the conference with a 291.7 team stroke average with a young lineup that sets SFU up well entering the regional fray. Simon Fraser is ranks No. 63 in the latest Golfstat rankings.

Freshman Bailey Bjornson led Simon Fraser at the GNAC Championships as one of three players tied for second place at 2-over-par 215. He ranks second in the conference with a 72.5 stroke average while teammate and fellow freshman Ryan Hodgins in fourth with a stroke average of 73. Hodgins was Simon Fraser’s other top-10 finisher at the GNAC Championships, tying for seventh.

Fitchett was one of four individuals from the West Region chosen to participate in the regional. Fitchett finished the regular season ranked second in the GNAC with a 72.5 stroke average. The 2021 GNAC Men’s Golf Player of the Year, Fitchett finished tied for ninth at the GNAC Championships with a three-round score of 8-over-par 228.

The 10 selected teams and four individuals from the West and South Central regions will play in the 54-hole tournament at the Pueblo Country Club. The top four teams and top two individuals not with a team will advance to the Division II Championships, May 16-20 at TPC Michigan in Dearborn, Michigan. An additional number at-large team berths will also be selected to advance.