By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

DuPONT, Wash. -- The Willamette University men's golf team shot 9-under par 279 in the first round to hold second place after 18 holes at the 2024 Northwest Conference Spring Classic on Sunday, April 7 at The Home Course. Whitworth University was in first place at 11-under par 277. In the individual standings, Jack Carr (Fy., Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage HS) of Willamette was tied for second place with a 4-under par 68, while Oliver Smith (So., San Jose, CA/Pioneer HS) and Preston Lightle (Fy., Victoria, BC, Canada/Belmont Senior Secondary School) of the Bearcats were tied for fifth at 2-under par 70.

Action at the NWC Spring Classic will conclude on Monday, April 8. The final round of the tournament will get underway with tee times starting at 7:27 a.m. PDT.

The NWC Spring Classic is one of three tournaments used to determine the overall Northwest Conference champion each season. The NWC Spring Classic is worth one-fourth of the title and the NWC Fall Classic is worth one-fourth of the title. The NWC Tournament, set for April 20-21 at Langdon Farms Golf Club in Aurora, Oregon, is worth one-half of the title.

Whitworth's score of 277 and Willamette's score of 279 put the Pirates and the Bearcats atop the team standings after 18 holes. Whitman College owned third place at 3-under par 285 and Linfield University was fourth at 3-over par 291. George Fox University held fifth place at 296, Pacific Lutheran University was sixth at 298, Pacific University was seventh at 302, and the University of Puget Sound was eighth at 304. Lewis & Clark College did not enter a full team.

All five Bearcats registered 18-hole scores below par in the first round. Joining Carr, Smith, and Lightle in action for Willamette on Sunday were Brock Olson (So., Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington HS) and Alexander Papajohn (Fy., Parker, CO/Lutheran HS). Olson and Papajohn were tied with four other golfers for ninth place at 1-under par 71.

The individual leaderboard was topped by Matthew Durkin of Whitworth with a 6-under par 66. He held a two-stroke lead over Carr of Willamette and Jacob Rawley from Whitworth, both at 68. Mason Remington of Whitman was in fourth place with a 69. Smith and Lightle of the Bearcats were tied with Brenden Borck from George Fox and Douglas Bailey of Linfield, after all four golfers shot a 70.

Ninth place was a six-way tie at 71. In addition to Olson and Papajohn from Willamette, other competitors tied for ninth place were Brock Drury of Pacific University, Ben Sweet from Whitman, Sam Pauly of Whitworth, and Koen Solis of Pacific Lutheran.