Davis, Kibbee, McMullin Finish 1-2-3 at Linfield, Leading WU to Team Title
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University men's golfers Austin Davis (Sr., Culver City, CA/Culver City HS), Andrew Kibbee (Sr., Kenmore, WA/Bothell HS), and Jack McMullin (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) placed first, second, and third, respectively, in the individual standings at the Linfield Fall Invitational as the tournament concluded at Michelbook Country Club on Sunday, Sept. 26. Their efforts helped the Bearcats win the team championship with a 36-hole score of 5-over par 581. The Bearcats won by 31 strokes.
Davis won the individual championship at 1-under par 143. He carded a 71 in the first round on Saturday and recorded a 72 in the second round on Sunday. Kibbee finished one stroke off the pace in second at even-par 144 as he shot 71 and 73. McMullin followed in third place at 1-over par 145, just one stroke behind Kibbee and two strokes behind Davis. McMullin shot a 72 and a 73.
On Sunday, Davis registered an eagle by shooting a three on the par-5 11th hole. He also earned two birdies during the round and finished the tournament with six birdies overall.
Kibbee was 2-over on the front nine with one birdie on Sunday, then carded a 1-under on the back nine with two birdies. He accumulated four birdies during the weekend. McMullin achieved three birdies in the second round, including a 25-foot, slightly downhill putt on the 17th green and another birdie on the 18th hole. He had seven birdies in the tournament.
Mason Rohleder of George Fox University took fourth place at 148 (74-74). Alex Weirth (Sr., Port Orchard, WA/Crosspoint Academy) from Willamette ad Reynn Hoshide from the University of Puget Sound tied for fifth place at 1439. Weirth shot 76-73, while Hoshide carded 75-74.
Three golfers -- Dante Heitschmidt of George Fox, Riley Lynch of Linfield University, and Matt Siemer from Lewis & Clark College -- tied for seventh place at 153. Heitschmidt shot 73-80. Lynch and Siemer each shot 78-75. Tenth place was a tie at 154 between Brenden Borck (78-76) of GFU and Eli Jamieson (74-80) of L&C.
Paxton Jones (Fy., Wellington, NZ/Scots College) of Willamette shot 161 (81-80) to tie for 19th place. Riley Lankford (Sr., Pilot Rock, OR/Pilot Rock HS) shot 165 (82-83) for the Bearcats, while teammate Carlos Cortes Dequidt (Jr., San Diego, CA/Torrey Pines HS) carded 167 (88-79). Also competing for Willamette were Andrew Raymond (Sr., Napa, CA/Napa HS), who and Reese Hamilton (So., Lopez Island, WA/Lopez Middle HS).
"It was a good win," Willamette Head Men's Golf Coach Patrick Daugherty said. "The guys played well and really worked through tough course conditions. It's always really special when you finish 1, 2, 3. Overall, it was a very solid weekend."
Willamette's winning team score of 581 included a 290 on Saturday and a 291 on Sunday. George Fox claimed second place at 612 (302-310), while Linfield was third at 623 (318-305), and Puget Sound placed fourth with a score of 634 (325-309. Pacific University and Lewis & Clark tied for fifth place at 652, with Pacific shooting 329-323, while L&C shot 322-330. Pacific's "B" team placed seventh at 744 (361-383).
The Bearcats will return to action at the George Fox Invitational on Saturday, Oct. 2 and Sunday, Oct. 3. The tournament will be held at the Astoria Golf and Country Club in Warrenton, Oregon.