By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. -- Willamette University completed the first day of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship in third place with a score of 6-over par 294 on the Champion Trace Golf Course at the Keene Trace Golf Club on Tuesday, May 16. The Bearcats ended the day 10 strokes behind the leaders from St. John's University (Minn.) and were just five strokes away from a tie for fifth place.
It was a lengthy day for the Bearcats and all of the other teams on Tuesday after the start of the tournament was delayed by about two hours from 8:30 a.m. EDT/5:30 a.m. PDT to about 10:30 a.m. EDT/7:30 a.m. PDT. Later, another lengthy delay pushed the end of the round into the early evening.
"Today was very, very, very long," Willamette Head Coach Patrick Daugherty said. "The guys played extremely composed and handled all the delays and restarts remarkably well."
For the Bearcats, Andrew Kibbee (Grad., Kenmore, WA/Bothell HS) led the way with a 1-under par 71. He earned two birdies on the front nine and two birdies on the back nine. All of the Bearcats began play on the first three holes in a shotgun start. Kibbee ended the round tied for 14th place.
Alex Weirth (Sr., Port Orchard, WA/Crosspoint Academy) and Riley Lankford (Grad., Pilot Rock, OR/Pilot Rock HS) each shot a 2-over par 74, while Brock Olson (Fy., Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington HS) carded a 3-over par 75. Weirth registered three birdies during the round. Lankford and Olson each achieved two birdies. Oliver Smith (Fy., San Jose, CA/Pioneer HS) shot an 85 and completed his round with a birdie. Weirth and Lankford were tied for 51st place, but were two strokes away from a tie for 24th.
St. John's grabbed the lead with a score of 4-under par 284. Illinois Wesleyan University was second at 3-under par 285 and Christopher Newport University (Va.) was third at 2-under par 286. Methodist College (N.C.) held third place at even-par 288. Fifth place was a tie between Piedmont University (Ga.) and Oglethorpe University (Ga.) at 1-over par 289.
Brian Hanson of Emory University (Ga.) and Bobby Beaubien of Illinois Wesleyan shared the individual lead in the first round at 5-under par 67. A four-way tie for third place with scores of 4-under par 68 included Sam Berger from St. John's, Jonathan Miller from the University of St. Thomas (Texas), Cade Patterson from Washington & Jefferson College (Pa.), and Dylan Gallagher from Franklin & Marshall College (Pa.). Five golfers were tied for seventh place at 3-under par 69. The tie featured Alex Price and Robb Kinder from Christopher Newport, Michael O'Sullivan of Oglethorpe, Sean McGarrity of Middlebury College (Vt.), and Josh Hebrink from Piedmont.
The NCAA Championship will continue through Friday, May 19. The Bearcats will move to the Keene Run Golf Course for the second round on Wednesday, May 17. Action will begin with a shotgun start at 10 a.m. EDT/7 a.m. PDT. Kibbee will begin in a group on the fourth hole. Lankford and Weirth will start in two groups on the fifth hole. Smith and Olson will start in separate groups on the sixth hole.
Willamette played alongside a very strong group of teams in the first round and will be paired with the same group in the second round. All four teams are ranked in the current Bushnell/Golfweek NCAA Division III Coaches Poll, with the Bearcats at #23, plus Emory at #1, Christopher Newport at #2, and Oglethorpe at #9.
In the first two rounds, 43 teams and a total of 221 golfers are competing. After the second round, the will be reduced to the top 18 teams plus the top six golfers who are not on an advancing team. The final two rounds will feature 96 golfers.
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