TURLOCK, Calif. – The Western Washington University men’s golf team recorded the lowest team score in Tuesday’s final round of the 46th Annual Hanny Stanislaus Invitational, moving up the leaderboard to finish in 4th place in the three-round, 54-hole tournament hosted by Stanislaus State University at Turlock Golf & Country Club.
The No. 6 nationally-ranked Vikings posted a 7-under-par 281 for the lowest score among the 17 teams in the tournament Tuesday’s final round. WWU completed the final 36 holes of the 54-hole tournament at 10-under-par, moving up from 12th place after opening the tournament with a 12-over-par 300 on Monday morning. The Vikings have now turned in a team score at or under par in 14 of 23 rounds in 2018-19 and placed in the top four in seven of eight tournaments, including five victories.
“I am extremely proud of how this team battled back over the final two rounds on a very tough course,” said head coach Luke Bennett. “They showed a lot of fight over the final two rounds and turned in two great scores. I am looking forward to how they build off this as they really showed a lot over the last two days.”
No. 8 nationally-ranked Chico State recorded a 19-stroke team victory finishing at 19-under-par 845, with host Stanislaus State and Simon Fraser tying for 2nd place at even-par 864. WWU moved up two spots on the leaderboard with its 7-under-par 281 in the final round after starting the day tied for 6th. The 17-team field featured eight teams ranked in the top 50 in the nation in the Golfstat Team Rankings, including the No. 4 Vikings and No. 8 Chico State.
“It was a very good field and I think that benefits all teams as we head to the postseason,” added Bennett. “The West Region has some very good teams and it is fun to see them all battle on the course.”
Freshman Jordan Lee paced the Vikings with a 9th-palce finish, turning in a 3-under-par 69 in the final round. Lee finished at even-par 216 for the tournament to record his 5th top-10 finish. The freshman from Tacoma and Bellarmine Prep recorded 36 pars over the 54 holes, tied for 6th-most in the 90-player field.
Seniors Nick Sparling (74-70-74) and Michael Butler (75-74-69), and junior Ethan Casto (75-74-69) all tied for 21st at 2-over-par 218. Sparling recorded 13 birdies, tied for 2nd-most in the tournament, while Butler and Casto each had 12. Senior Cody Roth finished at 7-over-par 223 to tie for 42nd place.
Chico State senior Josh McCollum led wire-to-wire to take home individual medalist honors finishing at 10-under-par 2016 to record a 5-stroke victory. Michael Jura III (Stanislaus State), Aidan Goodfellow (Simon Fraser) and Will Barnett (Cal State East Bay) tied for 2nd place at 5-under-par 211.
WWU returns to action next week with the regular-season finale competing in the Mustang Intercollegiate hosted by Western New Mexico at Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear, Arizona. The 54-hole, three-round tournament begins Monday, April 8.
