Willamette Wins GFU Invitational Championship, as Smith Takes 3rd Place
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
MOLALLA, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's golf team won the team title at the GFU Invitational as the competition ended on Sunday, March 24 with the second round at Arrowhead Golf Club. Willamette finished the tournament with a 36-hole score of 585. Linfield University was second at 588. WU registered a team score of 295 in the first round and improved to 290 in the second round. Linfield earned scores of 296 on Saturday and 292 on Sunday.
In the individual standings, Oliver Smith (So., San Jose, CA/Pioneer HS) of Willamette's "A" team took third place at even-par 142 for 36 holes on the par 71 course. Brock Olson (So., Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington HS) of the Willamette "A" team and Jack Carr (Fy., Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage HS) from Willamette's "B" team tied for fifth place at 145.
Willamette's three-stroke lead over Linfield included a two-stroke margin in the second round. Smith and Preston Lightle (Fy., Victoria, BC, Canada/Belmont Senior Secondary School) each shot a par 71 on Sunday, while Olson and Alexander Papajohn (Fy., Parker, CO/Lutheran HS) both carded a 74. For Linfield on Sunday, Zack LaPlaca shot a 71, Douglas Bailey added a 72, Jacob Smissen carded a 74, and Trevor Price shot a 75.
Third place in the team standings went to Chapman University (Calif.) at 596 (300-296), while the Willamette "B" team (301-305) and George Fox University (303-303) tied for fourth place at 606. Linfield's "B" team was sixth at 618. Pacific University (322-301) and the University of Puget Sound (307-316) tied for seventh place at 623.
Brendan Brock from George Fox won the individual championship with an overall score of 2-under par 140. He carded back-to-back rounds of 1-under par 70. Bailey of Linfield was second at 141 after shooting a 69 in the first round followed by a 72 in the second round. Smith of Willamette shot 71-71 as he took third place at even-par 142. Ben Soicher of Chapman was fourth at 144 (74-70).
Olson (71-74) and Carr (74-71) shared fifth place with Samuel Carillo from Chapman, who also shot 145 (72-73). Cade Streeter of Puget Sound was eighth in the standings after shooting 74-72 for 146. Conor Conley (71-76) of Chapman and Truman Fletcher (73-74) from George Fox tied for ninth place at 147.
In addition to Smith and Olson, other top finishes for the Willamette "A" team were earned by Lightle (78-71) and Papajohn (75-74), who both tied for 14th place at 149. Jack McMullin (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) shot 160 (80-80).
Carr's tie for fifth place led the Willamette "B" team, while Kyler Phillips (Fy., Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad HS) shot 152 (72-80) to tie for 20th place. Lucas Paul (So., Salem, OR/South Salem HS) shot 154 (77-77) for 22nd place and Paxton Jones (Jr., Wellington, NZ/Scots College) carded a 155 (78-77) for 23rd place. Connor Murphy (So., Palm Desert, CA/Xavier College Prep) shot 168 (88-80) as he improved by eight strokes in the second round.
Willamette will compete at the Northwest Conference Spring Classic on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7. The Spring Classic will be hosted by Pacific Lutheran University at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington.