BANKS, ORE. -- Willamette University ended the first day of competition in fifth place at the Pacific Invitational in men's golf, as the action got underway on Sunday, Sept. 19. The Bearcats were led by Connor Boyd, who earned a score of 78 and was part of a three-way tie for 11th place.
Pacific University topped the team standings with a score of 296 for 8-over-par. Linfield College was second at 302 and Corban University was third at 310. George Fox University held fourth place with a score of 315. Willamette was fourth at 333, while Lewis & Clark College was sixth at 343.
Max Bonk of Pacific held the lead at the end of the day with a 1-under-par 71. Parrish Evans, also from Pacific, was in second place with a 72. Yutaro Sakamoto from Linfield and Joey Ziogas from Corban were tied for third place at 73. Mark Spathas of Lewis & Clark was in fifth with a 74. Overall, 18 competitors recorded scores in the 70s.
Boyd was just two strokes away from a tie for seventh. Other top golfers for the Bearcats were Daniel Rehm (Fr.), Kyle Flowers (Fr.) and Paul Shoji (Fr.). Rehm shot an 82, while Flowers provided an 84 and Shoji carded an 86.
Rounding out the day for the Bearcats were Dylan Johnson (Fr.) with an 87 and Jacob Simonson (Fr.) with an 88.
Action continues with the second round on Monday, Sept. 20. Tee times will start at 8:30 a.m. (PDT).
The Bearcats recorded a score of 333 on the first day of the Pacific Invitational.
