Tuesday, April 25, 2023

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – It turned out that 54 holes just weren’t enough.

The 2023 GNAC Men’s Golf Championships went down to a two-hole playoff between Western Washington and Simon Fraser at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course that saw the Red Leafs claim their first conference title since 2018. Both Simon Fraser and Western Washington carded three-round scores of 847, forcing the first team playoff at a GNAC Championships since 2014 when Northwest Nazarene won the title.

Simon Fraser was led by sophomore Ryan Hodgins in second place with a three-round score of 3-over-par 216. Hodgins’ tournament was highlighted by conference history in the second round as he recorded the first albatross in GNAC Championships history to shoot a low round of 3-under-par 68.

Hodgins was second only to senior Jordan Lee of Western Washington who claimed individual medalist honors with a dominant score of 6-under-par 207. Lee carded sub-70 rounds twice in the tournament, closing his championship-winning run with a low round of 4-under-par 67. The win was his third consecutive victory after also taking top honors at the Hanny Stanislaus Classic and the NCAA West Regional Spring Preview.

Along with Hodgins, Simon Fraser senior Aidan Goodfellow also placed in the top three, finishing the tournament in a tie for third along with Western Washington senior Cody Oakes. Both players recorded three-round scores of 4-over-par 217 and low rounds of 1-under-par 70 in the second round of the tournament.

Rounding out the scoring for the Red Leafs were sophomore Bailey Bjornson in seventh with a score of 222 and junior Michael Crisologo in a tie for ninth with a score of 224. Equal to Crisologo in ninth was Western Washington sophomore Conrad Brown. Capping off the scoring effort for the Vikings was sophomore Seth King in a tie for 12th with a score of 226. Northwest Nazarene junior Grayson Giboney finished in a tie with Brown in ninth, leading the Nighthawks to a third-place team finish.

Montana State Billings senior Dawson Strobel also featured among the top finishers in fifth place with a three-round score of 2-over-par 218. Strobel carded a low round of 4-over-par 72 to end the first day of the tournament. He was the highest-placed finisher that was not a member of the Red Leafs or Vikings as MSUB finished in fifth place in the team standings.

Saint Martin’s also had a pair of golfers finish in the top 10 led by senior Max Turnquist in sixth with a score of 8-over-par 221. He was followed by freshman teammate Mason Bratcher in eighth with a three-round score of 223 as the Saints took a fourth-place team finish.

The lowest round of the tournament went Montana State Billings junior Kevin Kolb with a 4-under-par 67 in the final round. Kolb finished the tournament in a tie for 12th with a score of 226 along with NNU’s Cole Evarts and King.

With the GNAC Championships victory, Simon Fraser receives the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships West/South Super Regional on May 11-13 in Rohnert Park, California.