PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College men's golf used a strong finish on Saturday, to wrap up Day One of the Northwest Conference Spring Classic in a tie for third place.
THE BASICS
Men's Golf – T-3
rd out of 9 Teams – 297 (+13)
HOW IT HAPPENED
After starting the day red-hot (-4 through three holes), and then dipping as low as ninth place, men's golf combined to shoot -2 over the final five holes, to put themselves in contention after Day One. Sophomore
Mason Hill posted a pair of birdies during the run and junior
Luke Blankinship and sophomore
Charlie Hageman added one apiece.
Sophomore
Joonho Moon led the River Otters on Saturday. He posted an even-par 71 to finish in a tie for fifth place. Moon is just two strokes off the overall lead after recording two birdies, two bogeys and 14 pars.
Hageman placed second on the team and tied for 13
th in the field. Hageman raced out to -2 after three holes, struggled in the middle of his round, but closed with a birdie and four pars on his final five holes. He shot a 74 (+3).
Blankinship ended his day in third on the team and tied for 16
th overall. The junior started and ended strong. He was -1 through his first four holes and ended the day with a birdie and two pars. Blankinship carded a 75 (+4).
Hill came up big for Lewis & Clark to finish the day. The sophomore placed tied for 28
th and was the team's fourth and final scorer. After a stretch of two double bogeys and two more bogeys to end the front nine at +6, Hill shot a 34 (-1) on the back nine to keep the team in contention. He posted a final score of 77 (+6).
First year
Trae Fredrickson made his conference tournament debut. Fredrickson carded a 85 (+14) to finish fifth on the team and 45
th in the field.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Linfield University sits first overall after shooting a 288 (+4). Whitman is in second place (295, +11) and the River Otters are tied with Pacific Lutheran at 297 (+13). George Fox University is in fifth place (298, +14) just one stroke behind the River Otters and Lutes.
- Lewis & Clark wrapped up Day One tied for second in the field on par 4s. They shot a +15 (4.28). The River Otters were ninth on Par 5s (5.20, +3).
- Moon is tied for the lead in the field with 14 birdies through 18 holes.
- The team finished third for fewest bogeys (20) and fourth in pars (51).
- Moon ended Day One in a tie for second on Par 4 average (3.91, -1).
- Blankinship led the team and is tied for fourth on par 3s (3.00, Even).
- Moon posted his team-leading ninth round of par or better on the season.
WHAT'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will look to put together a strong finish on Sunday, as the wrap up the second of three NWC events this season. All five players will tee off at 8 a.m. as part of a shotgun start.
