SAN FRANCISCO – The No. 6 nationally ranked Western Washington University men's golf team opened the spring season on Sunday at the Bay Area Invitational and is in 5th place after the first of three rounds at TPC at Harding Park.
The Vikings, who have had their preseason training cut short by late winter snow in the Northwest, fired a team score of 7-over-par 295 to sit in 5th place out of 14 teams in the tournament.
The three-day, 54-hole tournament is being hosted by the Academy of Art on TPC at Harding Park, the site of the 2009 Presidents Cup and the 2015 WGC Cadillac Match Play.
Senior Nick Sparling is tied for 10th in the 76-player field turning in an even-par 72 in the first round, his sixth consecutive round of par or better going back to the fall season.
Seniors Cody Roth and Michael Butler are tied for 26th at 2-over-par 74, with freshman Jordan Lee tied for 35th (+3, 75) and junior Ethan Casto tied for 49th (+5, 77).
"I thought we showed some winter rust, which is expected, but also played how we can throughout the round," said head coach Luke Bennett. "It was a very up-and-down day, but I think there are some things we can build off of from today and overall it was just good for the guys to get back into competition."
GNAC foe Concordia holds the team lead at 8-under-par 280, backed by the top two scores in the first round out of Spencer Rhodes (-4, 68) and Luke Travins (-3, 69). Sonoma State is seven shots back of the Cavaliers at 1-under-par 287.
The second round of the three-round, 54-hole tournament on the par 72, 6,845-yard layout is scheduled to begin on Monday with tee times beginning at 7 am. WWU is scheduled to start teeing off at 7:40 am and will be paired with Holy Names, UC San Diego and Cal State East Bay.
WWU's individual scores and the complete team leaderboard from Sunday's first round of the Bay Area Invitational are as follows:
|
Bay Area Invitational
TPC Harding Park 8 San Francisco 8 Par 72 8 6,845 Yards
|
|
Pos.
|
Team/Player
|
To Par
|
Rd 1
|
Rd 2
|
Rd 3
|
Total
|
|
5th
|
Western Washington
|
+7
|
295
|
--
|
--
|
295
|
|
T10
|
Nick Sparling
|
E
|
72
|
--
|
--
|
72
|
|
T26
|
Cody Roth
|
+2
|
74
|
--
|
--
|
74
|
|
T26
|
Michael Butler
|
+2
|
74
|
--
|
--
|
74
|
|
T35
|
Jordan Lee
|
+3
|
75
|
--
|
--
|
75
|
|
T49
|
Ethan Casto
|
+5
|
77
|
--
|
--
|
77
|
|
Pos.
|
Team
|
To Par
|
Rd 1
|
Rd 2
|
Rd 3
|
Total
|
|
1.
|
Concordia (OR)
|
-8
|
280
|
--
|
--
|
280
|
|
2.
|
Sonoma State
|
-1
|
287
|
--
|
--
|
287
|
|
3.
|
Cal State East Bay
|
+5
|
293
|
--
|
--
|
293
|
|
4.
|
Saint Martin's
|
+6
|
294
|
--
|
--
|
294
|
|
5.
|
Western Washington
|
+7
|
295
|
--
|
--
|
295
|
|
6.
|
UC San Diego
|
+9
|
297
|
--
|
--
|
297
|
|
7.
|
Cal State Dominguez Hills
|
+10
|
298
|
--
|
--
|
298
|
|
8.
|
Dixie State
|
+11
|
299
|
--
|
--
|
299
|
|
|
British Columbia
|
+11
|
299
|
--
|
--
|
299
|
|
10.
|
Holy Names
|
+12
|
300
|
--
|
--
|
300
|
|
11.
|
Academy of Art
|
+15
|
303
|
--
|
--
|
303
|
|
12.
|
Hawai'i Hilo
|
+16
|
304
|
--
|
--
|
304
|
|
13.
|
Dominican (CA)
|
+17
|
305
|
--
|
--
|
305
|
|
14.
|
Notre Dame de Namur
|
+34
|
322
|
--
|
--
|
322
|
Results from the fall season and the upcoming spring schedule, as well as historical information on the program, can be viewed at WWUVikings.com/MGolf.
The WWU men's golf team has an incredible streak of advancing to the NCAA Championships in each of the 20 seasons the program has competed at the NCAA Division II level dating back to the 1998-99 season, including a 3rd-place finish at the 2013 national championship. The program has produced 17 All-Americans and has won 8 of 10 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in 7 of 11 tournaments, including 2018 champion Ethan Casto.
-- @WWUMGolf --
