Thursday, September 30, 2021

All five GNAC men’s golf programs now have two tournaments under their belt after competing in the Saint Martin’s Invitational on Sept. 24-25 and the WWU Invitational on Sept. 27-28.

The Western Washington Vikings got their season off to the perfect start, winning the SMU Invitational team title over Simon Fraser while freshman Conrad Brown tied for the individual title, eventually losing in a one-hole playoff. At the WWU Invitational, Montana State Billings led GNAC schools with a second-place team finish, helped out by top-ten finishes from Blake Finn, Liam Clancy and Riley Lawrence.

Western Washington received one vote in the latest Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll from Sept. 17, prior to competition. Three GNAC teams received votes in the preseason poll – the Vikings (18), Simon Fraser (13) and Saint Martin’s (six).

In the opening tournament at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington, WWU and Simon Fraser lived up to their preseason status, easily outpacing the rest of the field. Simon Fraser finished with a team score of 2-under-par 862 to place second, a full 10 strokes ahead of third-place Lewis-Clark State. But it was the Vikings who absolutely caught fire down the stretch, shooting 10-under as a team in the third round to finish at 14-under-par 850 for a 12-stroke win.

Individually, Western Washington was led by the freshman Brown, who shot a 7-under-par 209 in his first college tournament. Brown finished level with Hawaii Pacific’s Keita Okada after 54 holes, but Okada won on a one-hole playoff to officially take the individual title. Fellow Vikings freshman Seth King shot a 4-under-par 212 to finish fifth. The GNAC placed six golfers in the top ten, with Simon Fraser’s Bailey Bjornson and Tyler Fitchett of Saint Martin’s tying for sixth at 213, Simon Fraser’s Ryan Stolys shooting a 214 for eighth place and Western Washington’s Jordan Lee finishing in a tie for ninth place with a 1-under-par 215.

Montana State Billings put on a great performance at Monday and Tuesday’s WWU Invitational at the Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine, Washington. Rain and wind affected the proceedings at Loomis, turning a scheduled 54-hole tournament into only 36 holes and the conditions proved challenging while the leaderboard proved to be variable.

Hawaii Pacific had a four-stroke lead at the halfway point, but slumped all the way to seventh on the final day. MSUB put together two solid rounds, entering the final day in third place but emerging in second with a team score of 598. Simon Fraser was in second place after the first day, but fell to a three-way tie for third despite bettering their first-round score by nine strokes. After a tough first day, Western Washington shot the lowest team round of 288 on day two to rally to sixth place.

Individually, SFU’s Stolys was the GNAC’s top finisher, tying for fourth with a 3-over-par score of 147. MSUB’s Finn and WWU’s Lee were part of a four-way tie for sixth at 4-over-par 148, while four GNAC golfers tied for tenth at 149 – MSU Billings’s Clancy and Lawrence, SFU’s Bjornson and SMU’s Dennis Geissler.

Two GNAC teams will be in action next week, as Saint Martin’s and Simon Fraser will take to the links at the Sam Proal West/South Central NCAA Regional Preview in Pueblo, Colorado on Oct. 4-5.

LAST WEEK’S TOURNAMENTS

SMU Invitational (Sept. 24-25 at The Home Course, Dupont, Wash.): Team- 1, Western Washington, 850. 2, Simon Fraser, 862. 6, MSU Billings, 885. 10, Northwest Nazarene, 894. 11, Saint Martin’s, 905. Individual - 1, Keita Okada, Hawaii Pacific, 209. 2, Conrad Brown, Western Washington, 209. 5, Seth King, Western Washington, 212. T-6, Bailey Bjornsen, Simon Fraser, 213. T-6, Tyler Fitchett, Saint Martin’s, 213. 8, Ryan Stolys, Simon Fraser, 214. T-9, Jordan Lee, Western Washington, 215.

WWU Invitational (Sept. 27-28 at Loomis Trail Golf Club, Blaine, Wash.): Team- 1, Chico State, 596. 2, MSU Billings, 598. T-3, Simon Fraser, 599. 6, Western Washington, 603. 8, Saint Martin’s, 620. 9, Northwest Nazarene, 632. Individual - 1, Keith Ng, Hawaii Hilo, 143. T-4, Ryan Stoyls, Simon Fraser, 147. T-6, Blake Finn, MSU Billings, 148. T-6, Jordan Lee, Western Washington, 148. T-10, Bailey Bjornsen, Simon Fraser, 149. T-10, Liam Clancy, MSU Billings, 149. T-10, Dennis Geissler, Saint Martin’s, 149. T-10, Riley Lawrence, MSU Billings, 149.

Beartooth Invitational (Sept. 27-28 at Laurel Golf Club, Laurel, Mont.): Team- 1, Rocky Mountain, 591. T-4, MSU Billings, 610. Individual- T-1, Hadyn Driver, Rocky Mountain, 144. T-1, Cash Golden, Rocky Mountain, 144. 6, Dawson Strobel, MSU Billings, 149. T-7, Riley Kaercher, MSU Billings, 150. 17, Brady Cady, MSU Billings, 154.

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• Montana State Billings finished sixth at the SMU Invitational with a 54-hole score of 885, one stroke behind fourth-place Dominican (Calif.) and Hawaii Pacific. The team then led all GNAC schools with a second-place finish at the WWU Invitational with a 36-hole score of 598, two strokes behind Chico State.
• At the Saint Martin’s Invitational, the Yellowjackets were led by sophomore and Wyoming transfer Liam Clancy, who shot a 3-over-par 219 to tie for 17th place. Senior Caleb Trost shot a 6-over-par 222 with a low round of 71 to tie for 26th.
• At the WWU Invitational, MSUB placed three golfers in the top 10 of the 53-golfer field. Sophomore Blake Finn used a 71 on day two to put himself in a tie for sixth at 4-over-par 148. Both Clancy and senior Riley Lawrence were part of a group tying for 10th at 149. Slightly farther back, Trost tied for 25th with an 8-over-par 152, while sophomore Kevin Kolb shot a 160.
• In addition, MSUB sent a B-team to the Beartooth Invitational at the Laurel Golf Club in Laurel, Mont. Six Yellowjacket golfers took to the links, none of whom competed in either the SMU Invitational or WWU Invitational. Junior Dawson Strobel was MSUB’s highest finisher, shooting a 5-over-par 149 to finish in sixth overall. Senior Riley Kaercher was a stroke behind, tying for seventh at 6-over-par 150.
• Montana State Billings will compete next at the Chico State Wildcat Classic in Corning, Calif. on Oct. 11-12.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene finished in 10th place at the SMU Invitational with a 54-hole score of 894, five strokes behind ninth-place Hawaii Hilo. At the WWU Invitational, the Nighthawks finished in ninth with a 36-hole score of 632.
• At The Home Course, NNU received a top-20 finish from sophomore Grayson Giboney, who recorded a 4-over-par 220 to tie for 19th. Sophomore Cole Evarts turned in a consistent performance, shooting three rounds of 74 for a 6-over-par 222 and a 26th-place finish. Sophomore Lane Strand was two strokes behind at 224, finishing in a tie for 33rd.
• Evarts paced the NNU scorers at Loomis Trail by shooting an 8-over-par 152 with a low round of 72. Evarts finished in a tie for 25th place. Once again, Strand was closely behind his fellow sophomore, finishing in 35th with a score of 155. Giboney shot a 161 to finish 45th.
• The Nighthawks managed to improve as they went along in both tournaments. At the SMU Invitational, they improved by ten strokes from day one to day two, and by an additional stroke from day two to day three. At Loomis Trail, they lowered their team score by a staggering 40 strokes on the second day.
• Northwest Nazarene will not compete again until the Otter Invitational in Seaside, Calif. on Oct. 18-19.

SAINT MARTIN’S

• The Saints finished in 11th place in their home tournament with a 54-hole score of 905, 11 strokes behind Northwest Nazarene. They finished in eighth place at the WWU Invitational with a 36-hole score of 620.
• Saint Martin’s placed a top-10 golfer in both tournaments. At The Home Course, reigning GNAC Men’s Golf Player of the Year Tyler Fitchett slotted into a tie for sixth place with a 3-under-par score of 213, featuring a low round of 69. The next-highest finisher for the Saints was redshirt junior Ethan Finau, who placed 41st with a score of 227, but was competing as an individual and did not factor into the Saints’ team total. Senior Dennis Geissler was a stroke behind at 228 to provide the second contribution to the Saint Martin’s team score.
• Geissler broke out at Loomis Trail, however, shooting a 5-over-par 149 with a low round of 74 to finish in a tie for 10th with three other GNAC golfers. Fitchett was a stroke behind, tying for 14th with a 6-over-par 150. Redshirt senior Nick Baker tied for 31st by shooting 154.
• Saint Martin’s tweaked their lineup over the two tournaments, bringing seven golfers to The Home Course and six to Loomis Trail. Finau and freshmen Kody Lamb and Carter Sheets all had a stint outside the scoring five for the Saints.
• Saint Martin’s will be in action this Monday and Tuesday at the Sam Proal West/South Central NCAA Regional Preview in Pueblo, Colo.

SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser finished second at the SMU Invitational with a 54-hole score of 2-under-par 862, 12 strokes behind first-place Western Washington. At the WWU Invitational, the team finished in a three-way tie for third place with a 36-hole score of 599, one stroke behind second-place MSUB and three strokes behind first-place Chico State.
• Freshman Bailey Bjornson got off to a promising start to his career at The Home Course, finishing at 3-under-par 213 with a low of 68 in the final round. Bjornson tied 2021 GNAC Championships medalist Tyler Fitchett for sixth place.
• Junior Ryan Stolys also placed in the top 10 for SFU, shooting a 2-under-par 214 for eighth place, with a low round of 69. Juniors Jordan Bean and Aidan Goodfellow and freshman Ryan Hodgins were among a glut of golfers tied for 26th at 6-over-par 222. Simon Fraser was consistent, shooting between 285 and 290 as a team in all three rounds.
• Stolys recorded his second top-10 finish of the week at the WWU Invitational. The junior’s 3-over-par 147 tied him for fourth place. Stolys was the only GNAC golfer in the top five at Loomis Trail. Bjornson continued his solid week by tying for 10th at 5-over-par 149, while Bean (T-25th), Hodgins (30th) and Goodfellow (T-31st) all stayed near the top half of the 53-golfer field.
• Simon Fraser will be in action Monday and Tuesday at the Sam Proal West/South Central NCAA Regional Preview in Pueblo, Colo.

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• Western Washington won the SMU Invitational with a 54-hole score of 14-under-par 850, 12 strokes ahead of second-place Simon Fraser. At their own WWU Invitational, the Vikings finished sixth with a 36-hole score of 603, but had the lowest team round of the tournament with a score of 288 on the second day.
• Freshman Conrad Brown had the best possible collegiate debut, shooting a 7-under-par 209 to finish tied with Hawaii Pacific’s Keita Okada for first place. Okada and Brown went to a playoff, which the Hawaii Pacific freshman won on the first hole. Brown shot a 67 on the final day, which was tied for the lowest final round score of the tournament.
• While Brown had the most visible achievements, the entire Vikings roster matched his Saturday surge. Western Washington shot 278 as a team in the third round. No other team broke 285 in any of the three rounds. That performance helped turn what was a three-stroke difference between the Vikings and Simon Fraser into a 12-stroke margin of victory. Freshman Seth King finished in fifth by shooting a 4-under-par 212, while junior Jordan Lee used a low round of 68 on the final day to finish tied for ninth with a 1-under-par 215. Freshman Cole Reynolds just missed out on the top 10, finishing in a tie for 11th at even-par 216.
• Western Washington was bothered by the weather on day one of their WWU Invitational, sitting in eighth place halfway through the tournament at Loomis Trail. The Vikings rallied with a tournament-low team round of 288 on day two to finish sixth. Lee was the top individual finisher, tying for sixth place at 4-over-par 148. Reynolds and sophomore Cody Oakes finished tied for 14th at six-over-par 150. Reynolds shot a 69 on the final day, the lowest single-round score of the tournament.
• Western Washington will take part in the Chico State Wildcat Classic in Corning, Calif. from Oct. 11-12.