BELLINGHAM, Wash. – Western Washington University senior men's golf Ethan Casto continued his hot start to the 2019-20 season, earning individual medalist honors at the WWU Invitational.
The Snohomish native tied for 2nd at the Saint Martin's Invitational over the weekend, and then captured the individual title on the Vikings home course at the 2019 WWU Invitational played Monday and Tuesday at Bellingham Golf & Country Club.
Casto fired a 10-under-par 206 in the 54-hole tournament, and defeated Isaac Lee of Simon Fraser on the second hole of a playoff to take home his third career victory. Casto and Lee both recorded a par on the par 4 15th hole, and then Casto ended the playoff with a par on the 16th hole, while Lee recorded a bogey. For the season, Casto is 6-for-6 in rounds under par, including four in the 60s.
"Ethan was spectacular in every facet of his game, from Friday until Tuesday, it was 108 holes of amazing golf where he was 21-under-par," said WWU head coach Luke Bennett. "He had tremendous demeanor on the course, didn't let anything bother him and just played the brand of golf that Ethan is known to play. I am very proud of him for both performances and happy to have him join a select class of Vikings to win this home tournament."
Casto is the first Viking to win medalist honors in WWU's home tournament since 2012 when Mark Strickland won the title.
Casto's performance helped lead the Vikings to an 8th-place finish in the 18-team field, finishing the three-round tournament on a solid note with a 4-under-par 284 on Tuesday.
"We made some adjustments over the final two rounds and played better golf," added Bennett. "It wasn't the performance we were hoping for, but we enjoyed hosting a great field of teams in our tournament and very thankful for our gracious hosts at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club. It is a great experience for all involved and we certainly enjoy showing off our great golf course and the Bellingham community."
In addition to Casto's dominating performance, redshirt sophomore Aidan Thain (Bellevue, WA/Sammamish/Colorado Mesa) finished in the top 20 at even-par 216. Playing as an individual, the left-hander shot an even-par 72 in Monday's second round and carded a 3-under-par 69 on Tuesday.
Sophomore Jordan Lee (Tacoma, WA/Bellarmine Prep) recorded a 2-under-par 70 on Tuesday and finished in a tie for 29th place at 3-over-par 219 for the tournament. The 2019 GNAC Player of the Year was making his season debut after not playing over the weekend due to a minor injury.
Casto tied for the lead in the 102-player field with 15 birdies and sophomore Devin Andrews (Kirkland, WA/Juanita) tied for the lead with a pair of eagles (both in Tuesday's final round). Andrews recorded three consecutive rounds of 2-over-par 74 to finish in a tie for 38th place at 6-over-par 222.
Concordia (OR) put together an impressive final round 17-under-par 271 to pull away from the field recording a four-stroke victory over Simon Fraser. The Cavaliers turned in a team score of 20-under-par 844 for the tournament, holding off Simon Fraser (-16, 848) for the team title. Stanislaus State and Chico State tied for 3rd place at 4-under-par 860, and Dixie State rounded out the top five teams at 1-under-par 863.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS & LEADERBOARD
Here is a look at the final results for the Vikings from the 2019 WWU Men's Golf Invitational, as well as the team leaderboard.
|
2019 WWU Men's Golf Invitational
Host: Western Washington University
Bellingham Golf & Country Club 8 Bellingham, WA 8 Par 72 8 6,561 Yards
|
|
Pos.
|
Team/Player
|
To Par
|
Rd 1
|
Rd 2
|
Rd 3
|
Total
|
|
8th
|
Western Washington
|
+13
|
301
|
292
|
284
|
877
|
|
1st
|
Ethan Casto
|
-10
|
69
|
67
|
70
|
206
|
|
T-18th
|
Aidan Thain (Ind)
|
E
|
75
|
72
|
69
|
216
|
|
T-29th
|
Jordan Lee
|
+3
|
77
|
72
|
70
|
219
|
|
T-38th
|
Devin Andrews (Ind)
|
+6
|
74
|
74
|
74
|
222
|
|
T-53rd
|
Brody Bonfilio
|
+9
|
77
|
77
|
71
|
225
|
|
T-53rd
|
Cody Oakes (Ind)
|
+9
|
72
|
78
|
75
|
225
|
|
T-61st
|
Austin Darnell
|
+12
|
78
|
76
|
74
|
228
|
|
T-61st
|
Drew Halili (Ind)
|
+12
|
77
|
76
|
75
|
228
|
|
T-61st
|
Nick Lasko (Ind)
|
+12
|
75
|
74
|
79
|
228
|
|
T-74th
|
Luke Kuna
|
+15
|
79
|
79
|
73
|
231
|
|
T-76th
|
Devin Kim (Ind)
|
+16
|
80
|
75
|
77
|
232
|
|
T-86th
|
Andy Jang (Ind)
|
+18
|
79
|
82
|
73
|
234
|
|
Pos.
|
Team
|
To Par
|
Rd 1
|
Rd 2
|
Rd 3
|
Total
|
|
1.
|
Concordia (OR)
|
-20
|
288
|
285
|
271
|
844
|
|
2.
|
Simon Fraser
|
-16
|
292
|
281
|
275
|
848
|
|
3.
|
Stanislaus State
|
-4
|
293
|
285
|
282
|
860
|
|
|
Chico State
|
-4
|
291
|
291
|
278
|
860
|
|
5.
|
Dixie State
|
-1
|
294
|
274
|
295
|
863
|
|
6.
|
UC San Diego
|
+6
|
287
|
295
|
288
|
870
|
|
7.
|
Cal State Monterey Bay
|
+7
|
289
|
292
|
290
|
871
|
|
8.
|
Western Washington
|
+13
|
301
|
292
|
284
|
877
|
|
9.
|
Colorado Christian
|
+18
|
295
|
292
|
295
|
882
|
|
10.
|
Academy of Art
|
+24
|
297
|
301
|
290
|
888
|
|
11.
|
Saint Martin's
|
+25
|
306
|
296
|
287
|
889
|
|
12.
|
Cal State East Bay
|
+37
|
306
|
294
|
301
|
901
|
|
|
Hawai'i Pacific
|
+37
|
302
|
296
|
303
|
901
|
|
14.
|
Hawai'i Hilo
|
+38
|
300
|
297
|
305
|
902
|
|
15.
|
Montana State Billings
|
+40
|
300
|
309
|
295
|
904
|
|
16.
|
Cal State San Bernardino
|
+44
|
308
|
304
|
296
|
908
|
|
17.
|
Northwest Nazarene
|
+45
|
300
|
297
|
312
|
909
|
|
18.
|
Notre Dame de Namur
|
+74
|
313
|
312
|
313
|
938
|
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.
