Saturday, May 8, 2021

DUPONT, Wash. – The Home Course has done some good things for Saint Martin’s this season.

The Saints will advance to the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf National Championships after another strong outing in the final round of the West/South Central Regional in DuPont, Washington. They finished in second place with a final team score of 879 after turning in a 294 on Saturday.

Max Turnquist was the story for Saint Martin’s. The junior finished in a three-way tie for sixth place at even-par 216. Turnquist shot par or better on the entire front nine, tallying three birdies to finish with an even-par 72 round.

Senior Tyler Fitchett just missed out on a top-10 finish as he tied for 11th with Joey Geary of Western New Mexico at 2-over-par 218. The GNAC Player of the Year got off to a rough start with a double bogey and a bogey on the first two holes. He finished strong on the back nine with three birdies and six pars to help Turnquist lead the Saints.

Montana State Billings senior Garrett Woodin is also heading to the finals after finishing in third place at 3-under-par 213. He shot 3-under-par 69 in the third round, nearly matching his season-low round of 68 from Thursday’s opening round. Woodin earns a spot at nationals as the top two players belong to teams that are already advancing.

The Yellowjackets performed well in the third round but fell short, finishing in fifth place at 883, one stroke back of fourth-place CSU-Pueblo.

Western Washington placed eighth at 893. The Vikings were led by freshman Drew Halili, who finished in a six-way tie for 15th place at 5-over-par 221. Halili’s round included three birdies and eight pars. His season was highlighted by a second-place finish at the GNAC Championships, which were also played on The Home Course.

Rounding out the GNAC field is Northwest Nazarene in 15th place at 906. The Nighthawks’ top performer was sophomore Grayson Giboney. He tied for ninth place at 1-over-par 217 after completing a season-low round of 3-under-par 69 on Saturday.

Texas A&M-Commerce won the team title with a score of 10-over-par 874 while Thomas Jenkins of Sonoma State earned medalist honors at 5-under-par 211 to lead the Seawolves to a National Championships berth.

The NCAA Division II National Championships will be played on May 17-21 at the Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.