Monday, May 15, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – Western Washington men’s golf completed a 14-stroke comeback to finish the NCAA West/South Central Regional level with regional champion Sonoma State after three rounds and two playoff holes en route to earning the final GNAC Team of the Week honors of the 2022-23 season.

At the end of day one, the Vikings trailed then-leader Colorado Christian by 14 strokes as part of a three-way tie for eighth after shooting a round of 7-over-par 295. They began their charge up the standings on Friday, surging up to fifth place with a round of even-par-288. The end of the second round saw WWU with plenty of work still to do, however, as the Vikings still trailed Colorado Christian by 13 strokes.

Western Washington secured its berth to the NCAA Championships with yet another total team improvement, finishing the third round with a score of 4-under-par 284 to tie with host Sonoma State after 54 holes. Both the Vikings and the Seawolves finished the tournament with three-round scores of 3-over-par 867, forcing WWU to play its second playoff in as many tournaments.

The two sides were even through two holes, but fading light conditions forced the playoff to be halted. The regional title was awarded to Sonoma State based on a tiebreaker based on the combined total scores of each non-counting score from all three rounds. Those scores only narrowly fell in the Seawolves’ favor as they finished with 236 and the Vikings were just two strokes back with 238.

“It’s hard to put into words how proud I am of this team for what they accomplished this weekend,” director of golf Luke Bennett said. “There was so many moments where each player had a hand in making this happen. They truly did this as a team and that’s probably what makes it so special. I am looking forward to even more great things they can accomplish as a group at nationals.”

Western Washington was led by reigning GNAC Player of the Year Jordan Lee, who earned his fourth straight top-two tournament finish with a three-round score of 9-under-par 207 to finish in second place. Like the WWU as a whole, Lee showed improvement throughout the three-day tournament. He shot a 1-under-par 71 on Thursday, a 3-under-par 69 on Friday and capped off the West Regional with a score of 5-under-par 67.

Sophomore Seth King was also a key contributor for the Vikings, earning his second top-10 finish of the season at the best possible time with a three-round score of 2-under-par 214 to finish in a tie for eighth. King was extremely consistent for WWU, both opening and closing the tournament with low rounds of 1-under-par 71.

Junior Drew Halili and sophomore Conrad Brown completed the scoring effort for Western Washington on ties for 41st and 61st, respectively. Halili carded his best round of the tournament on Friday with a score of 1-under-par 71 and finished the tournament with a three-round score of 7-over-par 223. Brown’s three-round score of 227 was highlighted by a low round of 2-over-par 74 on the final day of the tournament.

Western Washington will now turn its attention to the NCAA Divison II Men’s Golf Championships at Avalon Lakes in Warren, Ohio which will be held May 22-26.