COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – Led by four players in the top 15, the Western Washington University men’s golf team is in 2nd place after the first two rounds of the 2018 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships at Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.
The Vikings shot rounds of 287 (+3) and 293 (+9) in the first two rounds, finishing the day at 12-over-par 580. WWU is 14 strokes back of tournament leader Simon Fraser University (-2, 566), and 11 strokes ahead of 3rd-place Concordia (+23, 591).
Sophomore Ethan Casto (Snohomish, WA) is tied for 2nd in the 30-player field, turning in a two-round score of even-par 142. The sophomore carded a 4-under-par 67 in the morning round, and then finished with a 4-over-par 75 in the afternoon. Casto is tied with SFU’s Chris Crisologo, who are both 4 strokes back of individual leader SFU’s Craig Titterington (-4, 71-67=138).
Freshman Brody Bonfilio (Boise, ID/Bishop Kelly) bounced back from a first-round 7-over-par 78, shooting a 4-under-par 67 in the afternoon and will enter the final round tied for 6th at 3-over-par 145. Bonfilio’s second round consisted of 7 birdies and 3 bogey’s to match the low score of the second round.
“Ethan started strong but ran out of momentum in the afternoon,” said head coach Luke Bennett. “Brody finished like a champ after a rocky start.”
Junior Cody Roth (Bellingham, WA) is in 11th place (+6, 73-75=148) and senior Adam Barker (Gig Harbor, WA/Peninsula/Olympic College) is tied for 12th (+7, 73-76=149). Barker leads the field with 10 birdies in the first two rounds of the championships. Junior Michael Butler (Sammamish, WA/Skyline) rounds out the Western contingent tied for 17th place at 8-over-par 150 (74-76).
“The rest of the guys had highlights here and there but couldn’t string a whole round together,” added Bennett. “I look for the guys to respond well after a good late night practice session and come out firing tomorrow. The attitudes are great and the team is ready for a low round.”
WWU led the field with 34 birdies, and combined to play the four par 5’s at 13-under par.
The Vikings are the two-time defending GNAC Tournament champions and have won the event in 8 of the 10 years it has been played. WWU entered the championships ranked No. 8 in the NCAA II West Region, two spots behind No. 6 Simon Fraser.
Tuesday’s final round is scheduled to start at 8 am off the first tee, with the Vikings scheduled to start in the second wave at 8:55 am. The final round of the tournament can be followed via the Live Leaderboard at Golfstat.com.
