By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The Willamette University men's golf team was tied for first place at the end of the first day at the Whitworth Fall Invitational on Sunday, Oct. 8, as the Bearcats shot a 2-over par 282. In addition, four Willamette golfers were part of a six-way tie for eighth place in the individual standings at even-par 70.

The first round of the tournament was held at Liberty Lake Golf Course. The second round will be held on Monday, Oct. 9 at the par 72 MeadowWood Golf Course.

Willamette golfers who were tied for eighth place at even-par on Sunday were Brock Olson (So., Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington HS), Preston Lightle (Fy., Victoria, BC, Canada/Belmont Senior Secondary School), Alexander Papajohn (Fy., Parker, CO/Lutheran HS), and Paxton Jones (Jr., Wellington, NZ/Scots College). Olson, Lightle, and Papajohn were competing for Willamette's "A" team, while Jones was golfing with Willamette's "B" team. All four were just two strokes off the lead and only one stroke out of a tie for second place.

At the top of the team leaderboard, Willamette's score of 282 was matched by host Whitworth University. The Bearcats and the Pirates held a two stroke lead over Linfield University and Whitman College, who finished the opening round in a tie for third place at 284. College of Idaho was alone in fifth place at 290. The Willamette "B" team and Whitworth's "B" team were tied for sixth place at 297. Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho) was eighth with a score of 319.

Chris Cayford of Linfield was the individual leader with an 18-hole score of 2-under par 68. The six golfers tied for second place were Alexander Knox and Eshan Singh of Whitman, Matthew Durkin and Aaron Storem of Whitworth's "A" team, Chris Zamani from Linfield, and Oliver Nordberg on the Whitworth "B" team.

In addition to Willamette's four golfers, other competitors tied for eighth place were Jacob Rawley from the Whitworth "A" team and Parker Edwards with the College of Idaho. An additional four golfers were tied for 14th place at 1-over par, putting 16 golfers within three strokes of the lead.

Olson, Lightle, and Papajohn led the efforts of Willamette's "A" team. The "A" group also included Jack McMullin (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) and Oliver Smith (So., San Jose, CA/Pioneer HS). McMullin carded a 2-over par 72 and Smith shot a 4-over par 74.

On the Willamette "B" team, Jones recorded the low score at even-par 70. Kyler Phillips (Fy., Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad HS) shot a 2-over 72, while Jack Carr (Fy., Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage HS) completed the round with a score of 75. Lucas Paul (So., Salem, OR/South Salem HS) shot an 80 and Connor Murphy (So., Palm Desert, CA/Xavier College Prep) carded an 82.

Murphy shot an eagle 3 on the par-5 12th hole. It was one of only two eagles by any of the golfers competing in the first round.

Tee times for Willamette during Monday's round at MeadowWood Golf Course will begin with the "B" team. Murphy will begin at 9:45 a.m., with Paul starting at 9:54 a.m., Carr at 10:03 a.m., Philllips at 10:12 a.m., and Jones at 10:21 a.m. The Willamette "A" team will start with Smith at 10:30 a.m., followed by McMullin at 10:39, Papajohn at 10:48 a.m., Lightle at 10:57 a.m., and Olson at 11:06 a.m.