Willamette Wins NWC Spring Classic by One Stroke over Whitworth, Whitman

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

DuPONT, Wash. -- Led by three Bearcats who tied for fifth place in the individual standings, the Willamette University men's golf team won the 2024 Northwest Conference Spring Classic with a 36-hole score of 3-under par 573, as the tournament concluded on Monday, April 8 with the second round at The Home Course. Willamette won by a single stroke over Whitworth University and Whitman College. The Pirates and the Blues tied for second place at 2-under par 574.

Willamette shot 9-under par 279 in the first round and 6-over par 294 in the second round. Whitworth, which led by two strokes after the first 18 holes with a score of 11-under par 277, shot 9-over par 297 on Monday. Whitman's scores were 3-under par 285 followed by 1-over par 289.

Mason Remington from Whitman moved up from fourth place to win the individual NWC Spring Classic title. His total score was 5-under par 139 with a 69 in the first round and 70 in the second round.

Three golfers tied for second place, as Brenden Borck of George Fox University, Koen Solis of Pacific Lutheran University, and Jacob Rawley from Whitworth each finished at 2-under par 142. Borck carded 70-72, Solis shot 71-71, and Rawley shot 68-74.

The Bearcats tied for fifth place were Brock Olson (So., Kirkland, WA/Lake Washington HS), Preston Lightle (Fy., Victoria, BC, Canada/Belmont Senior Secondary School), and Oliver Smith (So., San Jose, CA/Pioneer HS), as all three ended the tournament at 1-under par 143. Olson shot 71-72, while Lightle and Smith each shot 70-73.

Gabe Cach of Whitworth and Alex Knox of Whitman tied for eight place. Both earned a score of even-par 144, as Knox carded two rounds of par 72 and Cach shot 75-69. Four golfers tied for 10th place at 145.

Willamette topped the final standings at 573 (279-294), with Whitworth (277-297) and Whitman (285-289) tied for second at 574. Linfield University was fourth at 589 (291-298) and George Fox placed fifth at 597 (296-301). Pacific Lutheran followed in sixth place at 599 (298-301), while the University of Puget Sound was seventh at 608 (304-304), and Pacific University was eighth at 614 (302-312). Lewis & Clark College did not enter a full team.

In addition to Oslon, Lightle, and Smith, Willamette's team included Jack Carr (Fy., Anchorage, AK/West Anchorage HS) and Alexander Papajohn (Fy., Parker, CO/Lutheran HS). Carr tied for 14th at 146 with a 4-under par 68 in the first round and a 78 in the second round. Papajohn tied for 16th with a 36-hole score of 147 (71-76).

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.

Whitman won the NWC Fall Classic for 8 points and Willamette took fifth place for 4 points. Unofficial current standings after two events are Whitman in first place with 14.5 points, Whitworth in second with 13.5, Willamette in third with 12, Linfield in fourth with 11, George Fox in fifth with 9, Pacific Lutheran in sixth with 6, Pacific and Puget Sound tied for seventh at 3 points, and Lewis & Clark College in ninth with no points. Points earned at the NWC Tournament will be awarded on a 16-14-12-etc. basis.