BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University men's golf team closed out a fast-and-furious start to the 2023-24 season going low – really low – in the final round of the WWU Invitational on Tuesday at Bellingham Golf & Country Club.

 

The Vikings carded the lowest team round of the two-day tournament in Tuesday's final round with a 7-under-par 281, moving up two spots on the leaderboard to earn runner-up honors while playing on their home track. WWU nearly caught tournament winner and GNAC rival Simon Fraser on the leaderboard but finished two shots short of the team champion Red Leafs.

 

WWU completed the second tournament of the season at 11-over-par 875, with SFU earning a two-stroke win for back-to-back victories at 9-over-par 873. Western's final round score was eight shots better than any other team in the field.

 

"I am thrilled with how we played today to close out a busy stretch of golf to open the season," said WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "The goal is to always shoot par-or-better as a team, and today we accomplished that and more. It was truly a complete team performance today with everybody playing a piece in this. It's a good building-block for the rest of the fall and a reminder to the players of what they are capable of."

 

Freshman Nathan Yocam made his collegiate debut in grand fashion tying for third place in the 67-player field at 2-under-par 214, capping the tournament with a 3-under-par 69. Yocam recorded three birdies and an eagle in the final round and finished the 54-hole tournament nine total birdies.

 

"What a great debut for Nathan. It was fun to watch him compete and show his composure in his first collegiate tournament," said Bennett. 

 

Junior Seth King tied for sixth place at even-par 216 capping the WWU invitational with a 3-under-par 69. Played his final 14 holes Tuesday at 4-under-par finishing the tournament with 10 birdies.

 

"Seth had an outstanding final 27 holes, which shows his resilience and ability to battle in tough conditions. A great step for him as he shown great leadership and was able to shake off a tough start to finish in the top 10," added Bennett.

 

Sophomore Peter Dionne-Yahr put his stamp on a solid 2023-24 debut also tying for sixth place at even-par 216. Yahr shot consistent rounds of 71-72-73 while playing as an individual.

 

"Peter had great qualifying rounds and carried that into this tournament. He was determined to show is game is in top shape and proved that with this performance. He played steady golf from start-to-finish for us," said Bennett.

 

Tuesday's final round was littered with outstanding performances, including a 2-under-par 70 by junior Cole Reynolds and a 1-over-par 73 by junior Ryan Ho. Reynolds finished 25th overall and Ho was one stroke back in a tie for 26th place.

Nathan Yocam, Seth King and Peter Dionne-Yahr all placed in the top 10 at the WWU Invitational

Chico State senior Tyler Ashman earned individual medalist honors with a one-stroke victory over Kasey Gaff of Northwest Nazarene by finishing the tournament at 4-under-par 212. Ashman turned in a final-round 5-under-par 67 to tie for the lowest round of the tournament.

 

WWU will take the next three weeks off prior to closing out the fall tournament schedule with a pair of events in Hawai'i in late October. The Vikings will play in the HPU Sharks Shootout October 23-24 and the Hawai'i Hilo Dennis Rose Intercollegiate October 27-28. The complete 2023-24 schedule and team information is available online at WWUVikings.com/MGolf.

 

Here is a look at WWU's individual results and the team leaderboard from the 2023 WWU Invitational held at Bellingham Golf & Country Club:

 

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.