WU Finishes 5th, McMullin Ties for 11th out of 50 Golfers, at DIII Shootout
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Jack McMullin (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) tied for 11th place out of 50 competitors to lead Willamette University to fifth place in the final team standings as the San Antonio DIII Shootout concluded on Tuesday, Feb. 21 at the TPC San Antonio. The tournament, hosted by Schreiner University, was held on the Canyons Course during Monday's first two rounds and ended with Tuesday's final round on the Oaks Course.
McMullin carded a 54-hole score of 228, as he shot a 72 in the first round followed by a 79 and a 77. His 72 was Willamette's low round of the tournament. He tied for 11th place with four other golfers. Andrew Kibbee (Grad., Kenmore, WA/Bothell HS) of Willamette was part of a three-way tie for 16th place at 229. Kibbee shot 77-76-76. Paxton Jones (So., Wellington, NZ/Scots College) tied for 24th as he shot 233 (77-74-82).
Willamette's Riley Lankford (Grad., Pilot Rock, OR/Pilot Rock HS) and Oliver Smith (Fy., San Jose, CA/Pioneer HS) tied with matching scores of 235. Lankford improved in each round at 80, 78, and 77. Smith, who competed as an individual, earned scores of 77, 75, and 83. Alex Weirth (Sr., Port Orchard, WA/Crosspoint Academy) registered a score of 238 (80-77-81) for the Bearcats.
Southwestern University (Texas) won the team championship with a score of 887. Southwestern carded a tournament-low round of 297 in the first round before shooting 300 in both the second round and third round. Schreiner tied for second at 904 (295-299-310). The University of Redlands also shot 904 (304-298-302). Concordia University Texas ended the tournament in fourth place at 911 (302-305-304). Willamette was fifth at 922 with rounds of 306, 305, and 311. Friends University (Kansas) placed sixth at 927 (302-307-318), while the University of St. Thomas (Texas) was seventh at 933 (305-306-322), and Webster University (Mo.) took eighth place at 953 (313-316-324). George Fox University did not complete its team score after shooting 324 and 327 on Monday, as four of GFU's five golfers did not play on Tuesday.
The individual title went to Christian Rodriguez from Southwestern, who shot 4-under-par 212 with rounds of 69, 73, and 70. Zhao Yung Gu from Schreiner, who led at the end of the first day, finished second at 215 (67-71-77). Carson Gallaher, competing as an individual from the University of Texas at San Antonio, placed third at 217 (72-72-73). Nicholas Hoisington of Southwestern and Nicholas Kahanek, competing individually from UTSA, tied for fourth at 218. Hoisington carded 68-75-75, while Kahanek shot 74-71-73.
Two golfers tied for sixth place at 222. They were Aaron Buck of Redlands, who shot 73-72-77, and Travis Skorheim from Concordia Texas, who shot 73-74-75. Zane Malarksi from Redlands was eighth with a score of 224 (77-71-76). Rounding out the top 10 was a tie for ninth between Cade Kiser of St. Thomas and Spencer Leader from Redlands. Both carded overall scores of 226, with Kiser recording 77-71-78 and Leader shooting 80-75-71.
Willamette will be back in action on Monday, March 13 and Tuesday, March 14 at the Battle of Bar Run to be held at the Bar Run Golf Course in Roseburg, Oregon. Southern Oregon University will be hosting the tournament.