LA QUINTA, Calif. – The Western Washington University men's golf team move up leaderboard five spots to finish in a tie for eighth place at the Battle in the Desert on the PGA West Mountain Course.

 

The Vikings battled tough weather conditions in Wednesday's final round to record the best team score of the three-day, 54-hole tournament at 3-over-par 291 for the top round of the day. WWU completed the tournament at 20-over-par 884.

 

"We were a little closer today and nice to finish the week off with our best performance of the tournament," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "The team battled in rainy and windy conditions today. If we want to compete with the stronger teams we need to clean up our putting and wedge play, it will be good to have a couple weeks to focus on those areas before the final two events before conference."

 

Senior Jordan Lee led the Vikings placing 6th in the 80-player field, finishing at even-par 216 with rounds of 70 (-20, 74 (+2) and 72 (E). In 15 rounds this season, Lee has turned in 11 at par or better.

 

"For not feeling 100-percent during the week, Jordan played really solid in the tournament, especially without playing a practice round on a tough course," added Bennett.

 

Sophomores Seth King and Conrad Brown both carded rounds of par or better in the final round, with Brown firing a 2-under-par 70 with six birdies. King's round was fueled by three consecutive birdies on holes 6-8.

 

"It was really great to see Conrad come through with an under-par round, which should really boost his confidence," said Bennett. "And Seth is close to posting a really solid under par score."

 

Cal State East Bay climbed from a tie for 10th place following the first round to winning the team title finishing at 4-over-par 868 for a one-stroke victory over tournament co-host Cal State San Bernardino. 

 

John Kim of Cal State San Bernadino won individual medalist honors finishing the tournament at 6-under-par 210 (68-69-73) for a one-stroke victory over Easton Hether of Cal State East Bay and Nathan Jetton of Stanislaus State.

 

WWU is off for the next few weeks returning to action at the Hanny Stanislaus Invitational March 27-28 in Turlock, California.

 

Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard from 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 was a 54-hole stroke play tournament co-hosted by Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay.

 

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

 

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.