Tuesday, May 23, 2023

WARREN, Ohio – Western Washington’s Jordan Lee is well and truly in the hunt.

Heading into the final round of the 2023 NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships, Lee is tied for second place with a two-round score of 7-under par 137. After opening the tournament on Monday with a 2-under-par 70, Lee found even more performance on the course on Tuesday, carding the best round of the day with a 5-under-par 67 in round two.

Lee put together his impressive score by sinking seven birdies, including four on the front nine of the Avalon Lakes Golf Course. Across both days of the tournament, Lee is tied for the lead with 11 total birdies. He has also ranks third in the field of 108 golfers with a 3.90 stroke average on the par-four holes which make up half of the course.

Lee moved up six places on the second day of the NCAA Championships and is tied with Missouri S&T’s Gustav Liljedahl and Palm Beach Atlantic’s Andrew Riley. He is just one stroke behind leader Mauricio Figueroa of Texas A&M International.

In the team standings, Simon Fraser remains tied for 11th in a deadlock with the 2023 NCAA champion Lee University after two rounds. The Red Leafs finished the second round with a score of 293 to improve by four strokes from yesterday and bring their two-round total to 590.

Sophomore Bailey Bjornson continues to lead the way for Simon Fraser and is tied for 29th. Bjornson finished the second round with a score of 73 to bring his two-round score to 2-over-par 146. Bjornson notched five birdies on the second day of the tournament with three of them coming on the front nine.

The remainder of the Red Leafs’ scoring four all finished the day as part of an eight-way tie for 46th place. Senior Aidan Goodfellow, sophomore Ryan Hodgins and senior Jordan Bean all own scores of 4-over-par 148 after two rounds. Goodfellow carded the best round of the day for SFU, shooting an even -par 72 that included five birdies.

Western Washington moved up four places in the team standings to 13th  and is just one stroke behind Simon Fraser with a two-round score of 591 after the second day of the NCAA Championships. The Vikings were one of just eight teams to finish the second round under par with a score of 1-under-par 287.

With Lee leading the way, sophomore Conrad Brown is the second-highest ranked WWU golfer in a tie for 54th with a score of 5-over-par 149. Brown finished the second round with a score of even-par 72 and four birdies on the day.

Sophomore Seth King and senior Cody Oakes round out the top four for the Vikings at the end of day two in ties for 66th and 85th, respectively. King owns a two-round score of 151 while Oakes is three strokes back with a score of 154.

The 2023 NCAA individual champion will be determined at the conclusion of stroke-play tomorrow in Warren, Ohio. Simon Fraser and Western Washington will both be aiming to move up into the top eight teams to advance to Thursday and Friday’s match-play that will determine the team champion.