By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
CRESWELL, Ore. -- Trent Jones (So., Kenmore, WA/Shorecrest HS) of Willamette University is tied for fourth place on the leaderboard with a 73 following the first round of action at the Northwest Conference Fall Classic on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Emerald Valley Golf Club and Resort. Willamette holds third place in the team standings.
Pacific Lutheran University outplayed the other eight conference teams on Saturday, earning a team score of 1-under-par 287 for a 16-stroke lead. Whitworth University was in second place at 303, while Willamette was third at 305.
George Fox University, Lewis & Clark College and Linfield College were all tied for fourth place at 306, just one stroke behind Willamette and three strokes behind Whitworth. University of Puget Sound owned seventh place at 326. Whitman College was eighth at 341 and Pacific University was ninth at 346.
Kyle Drugge and Ryan Sturdivan, both from Pacific Lutheran, were tied for first place at 2-under-par 70. Alex Nelson, also from PLU, shot a 72 to grab third place in the standings. Jones was tied for fourth at 73 with Mason Koch from George Fox.
Mason Mueller from GFU and Robert Wang from L&C were tied for sixth place at 74. A four-way tie for eighth place at 75 included Lucas Balala and Isaac Grebisz from Linfield, plus Thomas Huddleston of Pacific Lutheran and Elijah Pittser of Whitworth. A total of 44 golfers are participating in the tournament.
In addition to Jones, other Bearcats competing this weekend are Sam Hinton (So., Seaside, OR/Seaside HS), Kenneth Sheldon (So., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS), Peter Mitzel (Sr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS), and Clark Wilson (Sr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS).
Hinton and Sheldon each finished the first round as part of a five-way tie for 18th place at 77. Mitzell carded a 78 and Wilson shot an 80.
Action in the tournament will conclude with the second round, set for Sunday, Oct. 9. All of the golfers will begin with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. (PDT).
The NWC Fall Classic is one of three tournaments used to determine the overall NWC champion. The Fall Classic is worth one-fourth of the overall title, with the NWC Spring Classic also counting for one-fourth. The NWC Tournament counts for one-half of the title.
