Willamette is Ready to Battle for Men's Golf Championship at NWC Tournament
By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
SALEM, Ore. -- It's a big weekend of competition for the Willamette University men's golf team, as the Bearcats will battle Whitworth University and Pacific Lutheran University for the overall Northwest Conference title during the 2016 NWC Tournament at Crossover Golf Course in Sunriver, Oregon. Action gets underway with 18 holes on Saturday, April 23 and will conclude with 18 holes on Sunday, April 24.
Men's Live Results
Championship Information
The NWC uses three tournaments to determine the overall team champion: NWC Fall Classic, NWC Spring Classic and NWC Tournament. After the first two tournaments, each worth one-fourth of the overall title, Willamette and Whitworth are tied for first place with 15 points. Pacific Lutheran is third with 12 points.
This weekend, the team that wins the NWC Tournament will received 16 points, with the remaining teams earning points on a 14-12-10-8, etc. basis. Willamette or Whitworth can claim the overall NWC Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship by taking first place this weekend. Even if Pacific Lutheran wins the NWC Tournament, Willamette or Whitworth can still earn the overall title by placing second.
Whitworth won last year's NWC Championship by a single point over Willamette, as the Pirates finished with 30 points and the Bearcats earned 29 points. Willamette won the NWC Tournament by 16 strokes over the Pirates, but Whitworth took the overall title by winning the NWC Fall Classic and the NWC Spring Classic, before finishing second at the NWC Tournament.
Competing on the five-man team for the Bearcats this weekend will be Chase Lamothe (Sr., Corvallis, OR/Corvallis HS), Clark Wilson (Jr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS), Trent Jones (Fr., Kenmore, WA/Shorecrest HS), Steven Rodriguez (Sr., Red Bluff, CA/Mercy HS) and Peter Mitzel (Jr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS). The top four scores each day will count toward Willamette's team total.
All of the golfers on all nine men's teams will start at the 10th hole on Saturday. Action will get underway with the first tee time at 10 a.m. Lamothe is in the first group, along with Lyle Rudnicki of Whitworth and Mitchell Baldridge of Pacific Lutheran.
Wilson will tee off at 10:09 a.m., with Jones starting at 10:18 a.m. and Rodriguez getting underway at 10:27 a.m. Mitzel will tee off at 10:36 a.m.
Rodriguez was Willamette's top finisher at the NWC Fall Classic ini third place at 151 (77-74). Mitzel took fourth place at 153 (77-76), while Lamothe was seventh at 155 (79-76). Wilson tied for ninth place by shooting 157 (77-80).
At the NWC Spring Classic, Lamothe won the individual title with a birdie on the first playoff hole against Baldridge. Lamothe carded 71-69--140 during the tournament. Jones tied for fourth place at 145 (71-74). Rodriguez shot 74-73 and Wilson shot 72-75 as both golfers tied for seventh at 147.
The Bearcats have won or tied for team titles at seven of nine tournaments this season. In a key victory, Willamette won the NWC Spring Classic by a single stroke over Whitworth and by three strokes over Pacific Lutheran. Lamothe has finished first three times, while Jones has won two individual titles and Wilson has registered one title.