KOHALA COAST, Hawai'i – The Western Washington University men's golf team closed out the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate placing 6th out of 19 teams to open its two-tournament trip to the Big Island.

 

WWU fired a final round score of 3-over-par 291 Tuesday to complete the 36-hole, two-day tournament on the par 72 Mauna Lani North Course. Western completed the tournament at 3-over-par 579. The Vikings top-10 finish included placing ahead of several teams that are ranked in the top 25 nationally and ahead of the team in the West Regional rankings.

 

"I am pleased with our showing in the first tournament over here in Hawai'i," said Director of Golf Luke Bennett. "The guys did a solid job of controlling their emotions and staying patient until the final putt was completed. The guys are excited for the next event at Waikoloa!"

 

Junior co-captain Peter Dionne-Yahr had another stellar performance tying for 4th place in the 106-player field at 6-under-par 138 by turning in a pair of 3-under-par rounds of 69. Dionne-Yahr tied for 2nd in the field with 13 birdies. Sophomore Nick Ennis moved up the leaderboard 11 spots with his 2-under-par 70 on Tuesday to finish in a tie for 17th place at 1-under-par 143.

 

"Peter did a great job today leading by example, turning things around after recording a bogey his first two holes," added Bennett. "He battled back with another round of 3-under-par 69 to earn a top-five finish in a really good field. Nick also looked solid today and was calm from beginning to end for a great score of 2-under-par."

 

Freshman Jack Kendrick (T53rd, +6, 150), sophomore Christopher Zamani (T58th, +7, 151) and freshman Ryan Vest (T84th, +12, 156) rounded out the Vikings starting lineup in the tournament hosted by the University of Hawai'i Hilo.

 

No. 1 nationally-ranked and defending national champion Colorado Christian recorded sizeable victory finishing at 30-under-par 546 for a 17-stroke win over second-place Sonoma State. No. 20 Cal State Monterey Bay, No. 9 Cal State East Bay and Cal State San Bernardino finished ahead of the Vikings to round out the top five.

 

Colorado Christian teammates Sungyeop Cho and Sangha Park tied for individual medalist honors at 10-under-par 134 with matching scores of 66 (-6) in the first round and 68 (-4) in the final round.

 

Here is a look at WWU's final individual results and the team leaderboard from the Dennis Rose Intercollegiate, a 19-team field playing on the par 72 Mauna Lani North Course. The University of Hawai'i Hilo served as the host of the two-day tournament.

 

 

The Vikings close remain in Hawai'i playing in the HPU Sharks Shootout Friday-Saturday at Waikoloa Beach Golf Resort.

Here is a look at the Vikings 2024-25 tournament schedule for the WWU Men's Golf program. 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 25 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 11 of 16 Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships since the tournament debuted in 2008. The Vikings have also featured the GNAC Championships individual medalist in 10 of 16 tournaments with Jordan Lee joining the elite list of conference champions in 2023 and nine GNAC Player of the Year awards.