Monday, April 22, 2024
by Thomas Lal

COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho  –  Records shattered and aces abound as the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championships got underway with two rounds of action at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.

The story of the day belonged to Western Washington as the Vikings pulled off a pair of major accomplishments to open the tournament. Arguably the biggest story of the day came via the clubs of WWU’s Ryan Ho as the junior carded a stunning 9-under-par 62 that not only broke the previous GNAC Championships record by two strokes, but also tied the best single round in conference history set by Jake Koppenberg for WWU in 2007.

Ho’s opening round of the tournament was just one stroke shy of the course record 10-under-par 61 set by former PGA Tour professional John Cook in 1992, according to head golf professional at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course Andy Mackimmie. Ho notched 11 birdies on his first tour of the course, picking up six on the front nine and five on the back nine. The record faced peril on the final hole as Ho’s initial shot landed in a bunker, but Ho played well to get back on the green and putt his way to the finish.

The Vikings’ Matteo Polla made it a day worth remembering for WWU by shooting a hole-in-one on the par-3 hole six. The ace was the first to happen in the GNAC Championships since Saint Martin’s Carter Sheets accomplished the feat in 2022. Polla is tied for 20th in the rankings after two rounds with a score of 6-over-par 148.

At the end of the first day, Western Washington sits atop the team leaderboard with a two-round score of 8-under-par 560. The Vikings opened the tournament with a GNAC Championships-record 11-under-par 273 and followed that up with a 3-over-par 287 to lead the field through two rounds. Saint Martin’s ended the day just two strokes behind WWU with a two-round score of 6-under-par. Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser follow one stroke behind the Saints with two-round scores of 5-under-par 563, meaning just three strokes cover the top four teams.

Despite Ho’s outstanding opening round, he sits third at the leaderboard through two rounds with a score of 9-under-par 133. One stroke ahead, Northwest Nazarene’s Grayson Giboney and Simon Fraser’s Michael Crisologo sit tied atop the field with scores of 10-under-par 132. Giboney owns the low round between the leading pair as he shot a 7-under par 64 on his second trip through the course. He notched seven birdies on the way to his score, including four straight to open the round, while not finishing a single hole above par.

Saint Martin’s is represented by Nick Ennis, Max Turnquist and Kyle Erwin in the top 10 with Ennis leading the charge in fourth courtesy of a two-round score of 6-under-par 136. Ennis shot the Saints’ best round of the day with a 5-under-par 66 on his second tour of the course. Turnquist finished the day in a tie for sixth (4-under-par 138) while Erwin finished in ninth (1-under-par 141).

Montana State Billings made its mark on the leaderboard by also putting three of its scoring golfers in the top 10. The Yellowjackets were led by Paul O’Neil in fifth with a two-round score of 5-under-par 137. Kevin Kolb tied with Turnquist for sixth, ending the day with a total of 10 birdies. Carson Garner rounded out the top-10 effort for the ‘Jackets on day one with a score of 1-over-par 143 to tie for 10th along with Western Washington’s Seth King.

The GNAC Men’s Golf Championships conclude tomorrow with the final round beginning at 8:00 a.m. (Pacific). The team champion will receive the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Championships.