BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's golf team got off to a solid start to the 2023-24 season sitting in fourth place out of 13 teams through the first two rounds of the Saint Martin's Bishop Invitational played at The Home Course.

 

The Vikings are 1-over-par as a team through the first 36 holes of the 54-hole competition, firing rounds of 2-over-par 290 in the morning round and 1-under-par 287 in the afternoon. WWU is just four shots out of second place, with GNAC foe Simon Fraser going low in the afternoon to build a seven-stroke lead at 10-under-par 566.

 

"It was a beautiful sight to see the competitive juices flowing again with the team getting off to a solid start to the season," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "All-in-all it was a solid first 36 holes to get things started. They hung in there all day and battled."

 

Junior Seth King paces the Vikings at 4-under-par 140 with a morning round of even-par 72 and went even lower in the afternoon with a five-birdie, 4-under-par 68 in the afternoon.

 

"It was great to see Seth come out of the gates and play like a leader," said Bennett. "He had a really clean round this afternoon with his 4-under-par 68. Great to see and expect a lot more of that this season."

 

Junior Ryan Ho opened with a 1-over-par 73 and finished the day with a bogey-free afternoon round of 2-under-par 70 find himself in a tie for 14th place in the 69-player field at 1-under-par 143.

 

"Ryan's bogey-free round in the afternoon was fantastic. He was measured throughout the round and was in complete control," said Bennett.

 

Junior Matteo Polla is tied for 31st at 3-over-par 147 (72-75) and senior Drew Halili is tied for 42nd at 5-over-par 149 (73-76). Freshman Braxton McDonald made his collegiate debut and is tied for 66th at 12-over-par 156. McDonald shook off the nerves of his first round as a Viking in the morning (+10, 82) with a solid 2-over-par 74 in the afternoon.

 

"Braxton had a tough first round, but never gave up and finished off his first day as a Viking with a great round and birdies on his last two holes," said Bennett.

 

Manu Gandhi representing the University of British Columbia holds the lead for individual medalist honors at 6-under-par 138 through the first two rounds turning in scores of 71 (-1) and 67 (-5) on the Par 72 layout at The Home Course. Junsu Im (Hawai'i Hilo), Easton Hether (Cal State East Bay) and Jackson Jacob (Fraser Valley) are tied for 2nd place at 5-under-par 139.

 

Saturday's final round features an 8 am shotgun start with WWU beginning on holes 7-8-9-10 while being paired with Simon Fraser, UBC and Cal State East Bay.

 

The Vikings will have a quick turnaround continuing the quick start to the 2023-24 season hosting the WWU Invitational Monday-Tuesday at Bellingham Golf & Country Club.

 

Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard following Friday's first and second rounds of the SMU Bishop Invitational at The Home Course:

 

 

Here is a look at the Vikings starting lineup for the season-opening Saint Martin's Bishop Invitational:

 

1. Seth King (Jr., Corvallis, OR)
2. Drew Halili (Sr., Port Orchard, WA)
3. Ryan Ho (Jr., Redmond, WA)
4. Matteo Polla (Jr., Portland, OR)
5. Braxton McDonald (Fr., Coldstream, B.C.)

 

The Vikings head into the 2023-24 season with the No. 12 national ranking in the NCAA Division II Bushnell/Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll. Advancing to last season's NCAA National Championship Tournament, WWU finished with a national ranking of No. 14 in NCAA Division II. WWU is one of five West Region programs to earn a preseason top 25 ranking: Sonoma State (#10), Cal State San Marcos (#13), Chico State (#20) and Simon Fraser (#23)

Here is a look at the Vikings 2023-24 fall tournament schedule for the WWU Men's Golf program, in addition to the listing of spring postseason tournaments. 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.