By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
WARRENTON, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's golf team grabbed the championship at the George Fox University Invitational with a 36-hole score of 13-under par 563, as the tournament concluded at the Astoria Golf and Country Club on Sunday, Oct. 3. The Bearcats, who shot a 9-under par 279 in the first round, followed up with a 4-under par 284 in the second round.
Austin Davis (Sr., Culver City, CA/Culver City HS) and Alex Weirth (Sr., Port Orchard, WA/Crosspoint Academy) of Willamette finished in a three-way tie for second place at 139. They were joined in the tie by Tom Hoyne of Whitman College.
Caleb Belton from Whitworth University took first place in the individual standings with a score of 138. Belton carded back-to-back rounds of 69 as he completed the weekend at 6-under par. Davis (70-69), Weirth (67-72), and Hoyne (74-65) all completed play just one stroke out of the lead. Hoyne's 65 on Sunday was the low round of the tournament. For the Bearcats, Davis and Weirth were two of just six golfers with at least one round in the 60s.
Josh Clogston of Pacific Lutheran University and Oliver Nordberg of Whitworth tied for fifth place at 141. Clogston shot 70 and 71, while Nordberg shot 67 and 74. Jack McMullin (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette tied for seventh place along with Alex Knox of Whitman at 142. McMullin shot 72-70 and Knox carded 70-72. Andrew Kibbee (Sr., Kenmore, WA/Bothell HS) represented the Bearcats in a tie for ninth at 146. He shot 70-76 to match Max Ray-Keil of Whitman, who shot 69-77.
Willamette's Paxton Jones (Fy., Wellington, NZ/Scots College) shot 147 (74-73) to tie for 11th place. Brenden Borck from George Fox also shot 147 (74-73).
On Sunday, Davis and McMullin each recorded an eagle for the Bearcats. Both of the eagles were earned on the par 5 12th hole. Kibbee and Jones registered five birdies apiece on Sunday, while Davis earned three, Weirth had two, and McMillin added one. Overall, the Bearcats earned a total of 18 below-par scores on individual holes during the second round after achieving 21 below-par scores, including an eagle, in the first round.
The Bearcats' team score of 563 gave Willamette a seven-stroke margin of victory. Whitman was second at 6-under par 570 with rounds of 297 and 283. Whitworth placed third at 579 (291-288). Pacific Lutheran was fourth at 587 (295-292), George Fox placed fifth at 500 (299-301), Pacific University took sixth at 608 (299-309), and Linfield University was seventh at 609 (302-307). The University of Puget Sound finished eighth at 628 (307-321) and Lewis & Clark College was ninth at 657 (338-319).
Willamette is slated to return to action at the Northwest Conference Fall Classic on Saturday, Oct. 9 and Sunday, Oct. 10 at the Quail Valley Golf Course in Banks, Oregon. The NWC Fall Classic is the first of three tournaments used to determine the overall NWC champion each year. The NWC Spring Classic and the NWC Tournament will be held later in 2021-22.
