DUPONT, Wash. – There were no first day jitters for the Western Washington University Men's Golf team as the Vikings teed off in the 2021-22 season-opening Saint Martin's Individual.
 
Led by three freshman, the Vikings hold a three-stroke lead in the 12-team tournament that will conclude with the final round Saturday on The Home Course. WWU fired rounds of 290 (+2) and 282 (-6) for a 36-hole team total of 4-under-par 572 in the first two rounds. WWU will be in a battle with GNAC foe Simon Fraser (-1, 575) when the final round tees off Saturday morning at 8 am.
 
"It was a solid day today…we definitely came out of the gates slow, but was really proud of how the team stayed patient," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "We'll do our best to feed off this afternoon's play as we head into the final round tomorrow."
 
A trio of newcomers dot the top of the leaderboard in the 67-player field, with four total Western players in the top 20 following the first two rounds.
 

Freshman transfer Seth King is along in 5th place at 4-under-par 140 following rounds of 69-71. He completed his morning round playing his final 10 holes at 4-under-par, including an eagle on the par 5 eighth hole.
 
"Seth's finish in the morning round really kick-started the team for the afternoon…that was huge," added Bennett on the transfer from Bushnell University in Oregon.
 
True freshmen Conrad Brown (T6th, -2, 73-69=142) and Cole Reynolds (T14th, +1, 77-68=145) made their collegiate debuts in style. Reynolds led the team and ranked tied for 3rd in the field with 10 birdies.
 
"Cole and Conrad were in cruise control in the afternoon," said Bennett on his freshman tandem. "It was great to see young guys play solid right out of the gates."
 
Junior Jordan Lee showed his normal consistency with rounds of 73-74 to sit tied for 19th at 3-over-par 147. Senior Aidan Thain is tied for 43rd at 9-over-par 153.
 
Ryan Feyrer of Grays Harbor College holds the individual lead at 7-under-par 137 following rounds of 68-69. He has a one-stroke lead over Christian Schrodt of Dominican (-6, 71-67=138).
 
Behind WWU and SFU, Lewis-Clark State is in 3rd place at 9-over-par 585, with Cal State San Bernardino (+10, 586) and Dominican (+12, 588) rounding out the top five in the team standings. Tournament host Saint Martin's University is in 11th place at 29-over-par 605.
  Saturday's final round will feature an 8 am shotgun start at The Home Course in DuPont, the home of the 2020 GNAC Championships and NCAA II Men's West/South Central Super Regional.
  Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard from the first two rounds of the season-opening Saint Martin's Men's Invitational at The Home Course:
 

2021 SAINT MARTIN'S MEN'S INVITATIONAL The Home Course  »  DuPont, WA Par 72  »  6,994 Yards
Pos.	Team/Player	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Total
1st	Western Washington	-4	290	282	--	572
5th	Seth King	-4	69	71	--	140
T6th	Conrad Brown	-2	73	69	--	142
T14th	Cole Reynolds	+1	77	68	--	145
T19th	Jordan Lee	+3	73	74	--	147
T43rd	Aidan Thain	+9	75	78	--	153
Pos.	Team	To Par	Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Total
1.	Western Washington	-4	290	282	--	572
2.	Simon Fraser	-1	285	290	--	575
3.	Lewis-Clark State	+9	290	295	--	585
4.	Cal St. San Bernardino	+10	295	291	--	586
5.	Dominican	+12	298	290	--	588
6.	Hawai'i Hilo	+14	298	292	--	590
	Montana State Billings	+14	292	298	--	590
	Hawai'i Pacific	+14	296	294	--	590
9.	Bellevue College	+22	299	299	--	598
10.	Northwest Nazarene	+23	303	296	--	599
11.	Saint Martin's	+29	307	298	--	605
12.	Grays Harbor College	+41	307	310	--	617

  The 2021 Saint Martin's Men's Invitational features a live leaderboard via GolfStat. For all WWU Men's Golf tournaments, you can directly access the live leaderboard by pointing your browser to WWUVikings.com/MG_Live.
  WWU is part of a 12-team, 68-player field that will compete in a 54-hole stroke play tournament. The first 36 holes will be played Friday with an 8 am shotgun start, with the Vikings teeing off holes 11-15 and paired with Dominican, Lewis-Clark State and Bellevue College. Here is a look at the teams scheduled to compete in the Saint Martin's Invitational at The Home Course (Par 72, 6,994 Yards):

• Saint Martin's (Tournament Host)
• Bellevue College
• Cal State San Bernardino
• Dominican (CA)
• Grays Harbor College
• Hawai'i Hilo
• Hawai'i Pacific
• Lewis-Clark State
• Montana State Billings
• Northwest Nazarene
• Simon Fraser
• Western Washington

Following the Saint Martin's Invitational, the Vikings will have a quick turnaround hosting the WWU Invitational Monday-Tuesday at Loomis Trail Golf Club in Blaine. The 54-hole tournament will feature an 8:30 am shotgun start each day. Loomis Trail and WWU hosted the 2009 NCAA II National Championships.
  Here is a look at the complete 2021-22 schedule for the WWU Men's Golf program, which includes four fall and four spring tournaments leading up to the GNAC Championships. All tournament recaps, season statistics and program history can be found on WWUVikings.com/MGolf.
 

Dates	Tournament	Location / Course
Sept. 24-25	Saint Martin's Invitational	DuPont, WA / The Home Course
Sept. 27-28	WWU Invitational	Blaine, WA / Loomis Trail Golf Club
Oct. 11-12	Chico State Invitational	Corning, CA / The Links at Rolling Hills
Oct. 18-19	Otter Invitational	Seaside, CA / Bayonet Golf Course
Feb. 14-15	CSUSM Fujikura Invitational	Vista, CA / Shadowridge Golf Club
Feb. 21-22	Bay Area Invitational	Pleasanton, A / The Club at Ruby Hill
March 28-29	Hanny Stanislaus Invitational	Turlock, CA / Turlock Golf & Country Club
April 6-7	Palm Valley Classic	Goodyear, AZ / Palm Valley Golf Club
April 18-19	GNAC Championships	Coeur d'Alene, ID / Coeur d'Alene Golf Resort
May 5-7	NCAA West Regional	Pueblo, CA / Pueblo Country Club
May 16-20	NCAA National Championships	Dearborn, MI / TPC Michigan