WARREN, Ohio – Western Washington University senior Jordan Lee completed his illustrious career placing second at the NCAA Division II National Championship wrapping up play in the 54-hole tournament Wednesday at Avalon Lakes Country Club.

 

Lee spent much of the final round at the top of the leaderboard firing a 3-under-par 69 to finish the tournament at 10-under-par 206, but was edged by two strokes by sophomore Andrew Riley of Palm Beach Atlantic who fired a 5-under-par 67 for a 12-under-par 204. Both players recorded an eagle on the par 5 No. 14, which proved to be the deciding factor for individual medalist honors.

 

"What can you say about Jordan…it was just one of the best stretches of golf I've witnessed capped by just a phenomenal tournament at nationals," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "It was special to witness how he handled the pressure playing in a national tournament. His career at Western will match up with the greats in program history."

 

The Vikings placed 15th overall as a team with a three-round total of 29-over-par 893, 15 strokes back of a potential spot as one of the top eight teams that advance to medal match play to determine the national champion. WWU opened the final round in 13th place after a 1-under-par round in Tuesday's second round, but fell short of capturing that magic with a final round score of 14-over-par 302.

 

Lee closed out his collegiate career with his 16th consecutive round of par or better, recording four birdies and an eagle in his final round of 3-under-par 69. Over this course of the 2022-23 season Lee scored or par or better in 26 of 30 rounds to set the WWU single-season record. Over his last five tournaments he recorded three wins, including the GNAC Championships, and earned runner-up honors at both the NCAA II West/South Central Super Regional and the NCAA II National Championship.

The second-place finish is one of the best by a Viking at the NCAA Championship, joining the tie for first place by Jake Webb in 2013 (lost in playoff) and tie for third place by WWU Hall of Famer Sean Packer in 2008.

 

Lee's runner-up finish earned him a spot on the NCAA Championships All-Tournament Team and it was announced he has also been selected as a First Team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America becoming the fourth Viking to earn GCAA First Team All-America honors during the NCAA era (since 1998-99). 

 

WWU secured its highest finish at nationals since 2013 with the 15th-place finish. 

 

"From the moment the season began, I knew this was going to be a special team and they proved that by reaching the national championship," said Bennett. "It was a team effort by all 10 players in the program. I could not be prouder of this special group of guys. I hope this creates more national tournament momentum."

 

Sophomore Conrad Brown tied for 80th place with a three-round score of 13-over-par 229, while senior Cody Oakes and sophomore Seth King tied for 88th place at 15-over-par 231. Junior Drew Halili rounded out the Viking contingent tying for 99th place in the 108-player field at 21-over-par 237.

 

Oklahoma Christian led the eight teams that qualified for the match play finals completing the 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament at 10-under-par 854, 15 strokes ahead of second-place Barry University. Defending national champion Lee (+8, 872), Grand Valley State (+8, 872), No. 1 nationally-ranked West Florida (+8, 872), Nova Southeastern (+10, 874), West Region champion Sonoma State (+11, 875) and GNAC member Simon Fraser (+14, 878) all qualified for the quarterfinals of match play on Thursday. SFU defeated Harding and Missouri Science and Technology in a sudden-death playoff to lock up the final spot in the quarterfinals.

 

Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard from the stroke play portion of the 2023 NCAA Division II National Championship at Avalon Lakes Country Club in Warren, Ohio:

 

 

WWU competed in the NCAA II National Championship Tournament for the 10th time in program history and first since 2017 placing 16th at nationals in Kissimmee, Florida. Here is a look at the Vikings finish at nationals since making the move up from NAIA in 1999:

 

• 1999 (11th)
• 2000 (T6th)
• 2003 (11th)
• 2004 (9th)
• 2005 (9th)
• 2008 (T8th)
• 2012 (9th)
• 2013 (T3rd) Reached Semifinals in Match Play
• 2017 (16th)
• 2023 (15th)

 

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 24 seasons the program has competed at the NCAA Division II level dating back to the 1998-99 season. WWU placed 3rd at the 2013 national championship for the highest finish in program history and made its 10th trip to the National Championship Finals in 2023 placing 15th. The program has produced 16 NCAA All-Americans and has won 10 of 15 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in 10 of 15 tournaments with Jordan Lee joining the elite list of conference champions in 2023 and nine GNAC Player of the Year awards.