LA QUINTA, Calif. – The Western Washington University men's golf team completed the opening round of the Battle in the Desert Monday at the PGA West Mountain Court.

 

In a field featuring 11 top-50 ranked teams via Golfstat, the No. 22 Vikings are in 12th place through the first 18 holes of the 54-hole tournament. WWU opened with a 5-over-par team round of 293 on the par 72, 6,666-yard layout just outside of Palm Springs. 

 

The final group of four teams were not able to finish Monday's first round, so the tournament results are incomplete heading into Tuesday's second round.

 

Western heads into Tuesday's second round in a tightly-packed bunch with 10 teams separated by just five strokes. Tournament co-host Cal State San Bernardino leads the field at 5-under-par 283 with co-host Cal State Monterey Bay in 2nd place at 2-under-par 286.

 

The Vikings were once again led by senior Jordan Lee, who carded a 2-under-par 70 with four birdies to sit in a tie for 7th place in the in 80-player field. The reigning GNAC Golfer of the Week has now turned in 10 of 13 possible rounds this season at par or better. 

 

Senior Cody Oakes and junior Drew Halili are tied for 39th at 2-over-par 74 and sophomores Conrad Brown and Seth King tied for 51st at 3-over-par 75.

 

"It wasn't our best day to open the tournament, but it is a pretty tightly-bunched leaderboard," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "We'll look to clean up our ball striking tomorrow which will hopefully lead to a few more birdies. The guys were super close today. Jordan (Lee) played solid from beginning to end to open the tournament."

 

The updated tournament results show Travis Bassio of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Keith Ng of Hawai'i Hilo and John Kim of Cal State San Bernardino in a three-way tie for individual medalist honors at 4-under-pr 68. 

 

Tuesday's second round is scheduled to start with tee times at 9:30 am on the PGA West Mountain Course, with the Vikings scheduled to start in the final wave beginning at 11:45 am. Four teams – Saint Martin's, Montana State Billings, Regis and Cal State San Bernardino "B" – will complete the final three holes of their first round prior to the start of the second round.

 

Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard following Monday's first round of the Battle in the Desert co-hosted by Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay at the PGA West Mountain Course in La Quinta, California:

 

 

The Battle in the Desert is a 54-hole stroke play tournament co-hosted by Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay. The 15-team field will play 18 holes each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with a 9:30 am start each round. Tournament results and a full recap will be posted on WWUVikings.com following each round.

 

• Event: 2023 Battle in the Desert
• Course: PGA West Mountain Course
• Location: La Quinta, CA
• Details: Par 72, 6,666 Yards
• Golfstat Live Leaderboard

 

Here is a look at the tournament field for the Battle in the Desert and the current Golfstat Relative Team Ranking. The Battle in the Desert features 11 of the top 50 teams in the nation according to the current Golfstat rankings:

 

 

Following the Battle in the Desert, WWU will take a few weeks off and return to action March 27-28 at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational at Turlock Golf & Country Club in Turlock, California.

 

Here is a look at the 2022-23 schedule for the WWU Men's Golf program, in addition to the 2023 postseason schedule. All tournament recaps, season statistics and program history can be found on WWUVikings.com/MGolf.

 

 

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 23 seasons the program has competed at the NCAA Division II level dating back to the 1998-99 season, which includes this season after earning the automatic bid from winning the GNAC Championships. WWU placed 3rd at the 2013 national championship for the highest finish in program history. The program has produced 16 NCAA All-Americans and has won 10 of 14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008, including the 2022 title. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in nine of 14 tournaments with Aidan Thain joining the long list of conference champions in 2022 and nine GNAC Player of the Year awards.