DUPONT, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's golf team is tied for 4th place after the first two rounds of the season-opening Saint Martin's Invitational, with 36 holes played on Friday at The Home Course.
The No. 9 nationally-ranked Vikings recorded a 36-hole team score of 3-under-par 573 (287-286) to tie for 4th place in the 14-team field heading into Saturday's final round. GNAC rival Simon Fraser blistered the par 72, 6,983-yard layout finishing the first day at 20-under-par 556, including an afternoon round of 18-under-par 270.
Western is one shot back of second-place teams Dixie State and host Saint Martin's at 4-under-par 572. The Vikings are the defending team champions at the event, winning the first of six tournament during the record-breaking 2018-19 season.
Senior Ethan Casto (Snohomish, WA) led the Viking contingent at 5-under-par 139, recording rounds of 4-under-par 68 in the morning and 1-under-par 71 in the afternoon. Casto is the lone senior on the 12-member squad that is ranked No. 9 in the national preseason coaches poll and has reached the NCAA postseason 21 consecutive seasons.
Junior transfer Austin Darnell (Mount Vernon, WA/PLU) made his WWU debut after transferring in from Pacific Lutheran University, and is tied for 23rd place at even-par 144 (71-73=144). Junior Brody Bonfilio (Boise, ID/Bishop Kelly) and redshirt sophomore Aidan Thain (Bellevue, WA/Sammamish/Colorado Mesa) are both tied for 28th place in the 76-player field at 1-over-par 145. Bonfilio, the 2019 GNAC Championships individual medalist, fired a 3-under-par 69 in the afternoon round to bounce back from a 4-over-par 76 in the morning.
"It's always nice to see two team scores under par to start the season," said WWU Director of GolfLuke Bennett. "The guys played pretty solid today overall. There are definitely things we can clean up and we hope to do that tomorrow. Overall, it was a good start to the season and it was great to see the Vikings back out on the course competing."
Saturday's final round is schedule for an 8 am shotgun start at The Home Course with WWU scheduled to tee off holes 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The Vikings will have a quick turnaround hosting the annual WWU Invitational Monday and Tuesday at Bellingham Golf & Country Club, with 36 holes planned for Monday and the 18-hole final round on Tuesday. More info on the 48th Annual WWU Invitational can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS & LEADERBOARD
Here is a look at the first and second round results from Friday's competition at the season-opening Saint Martin's Invitational played on The Home Course (par 72) in DuPont, WA. Saturday's final round is scheduled to start teeing off at 8 am. The tournament Live Leaderboard can be tracked via Golfstat.com.
|
2019 Saint Martin's Invitational
Host: Saint Martin's University
The Home Course 8 DuPont, WA 8 Par 72 8 6,984 Yards
|
|
Pos.
|
Team/Player
|
To Par
|
Rd 1
|
Rd 2
|
Rd 3
|
Total
|
|
T-4th
|
Western Washington
|
-3
|
287
|
286
|
--
|
573
|
|
T-4th
|
Ethan Casto
|
-5
|
68
|
71
|
--
|
139
|
|
T-23rd
|
Austin Darnell
|
E
|
71
|
73
|
--
|
144
|
|
T-28th
|
Brody Bonfilio
|
+1
|
76
|
69
|
--
|
145
|
|
T-28th
|
Aidan Thain
|
+1
|
72
|
73
|
--
|
145
|
|
T-49th
|
Devin Andrews
|
+6
|
76
|
74
|
--
|
150
|
|
Pos.
|
Team
|
To Par
|
Rd 1
|
Rd 2
|
Rd 3
|
Total
|
|
1.
|
Simon Fraser
|
-20
|
286
|
270
|
--
|
556
|
|
2.
|
Dixie State
|
-4
|
289
|
284
|
--
|
572
|
|
|
Saint Martin's
|
-4
|
289
|
283
|
--
|
572
|
|
4.
|
Western Washington
|
-3
|
287
|
286
|
--
|
573
|
|
|
British Columbia
|
-3
|
286
|
287
|
--
|
573
|
|
6.
|
Academy of Art
|
-2
|
282
|
292
|
--
|
574
|
|
7.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
E
|
294
|
282
|
--
|
576
|
|
8.
|
Stanislaus State
|
+2
|
282
|
296
|
--
|
578
|
|
9.
|
Concordia (OR)
|
+4
|
282
|
298
|
--
|
580
|
|
10.
|
Hawai'i Hilo
|
+7
|
286
|
297
|
--
|
583
|
|
11.
|
Colorado Christian
|
+8
|
296
|
288
|
--
|
584
|
|
12.
|
Hawai'i Pacific
|
+14
|
298
|
292
|
--
|
590
|
|
13.
|
Montana St. Billings
|
+28
|
305
|
299
|
--
|
604
|
|
14.
|
Notre Dame de Namur
|
+40
|
304
|
312
|
--
|
616
|
Fans can follow the WWU Men's Golf program online at WWUVikings.com/MGolf, and via social media on Twitter (@WWUGolf), Instagram (@wwugolf) and Facebook (@WWUMGolf).
The WWU men's golf team has an incredible streak of advancing to the NCAA Championships in each of the 21 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 9 of 12 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008, including the 2019 title. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in 8 of 12 tournaments, including 2018 champion Ethan Casto and 2019 champion Brody Bonfilio.
