Men’s Golf Finishes 12th at Western Washington Invitational

Final Results

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – After a slow start, the Montana State Billings men’s golf team improved to 12th at the Western Washington Invitational with a final round 294 on Tuesday.  The Yellowjackets finished with a 921 team score (320 – 307 – 294) on the par 72, 6,561-yard Bellingham Golf and Country Club course.  Dixie State shot a blazing 275 Tuesday to win the tournament after entering the day fifth.

“After a poor start, I thought our team responded well shooting a 294 on Tuesday,” head coach Shawn O’Brien said.  “We are on the verge of being a good team if we can control our inconsistency.  Overall for the road trip, I thought it was pretty good minus a couple of days.  You are not always going to do well playing top golf courses and nationally ranked Division II golf programs.”

Dixie State had all four counting scores shoot under par on Tuesday as medalist, Kyle Chappell, shot a tournament-low round of 65 for a 208 score.  He and teammate Cameron Crawford tied with a 208, but Chappell won the playoff.  University of British Columbia was runner-up with an 859 score.  Chico State, who entered the day in second place, finished third with an 861 score.    Western Washington was fourth (866), followed by Hawaii-Hilo to round out the top five with an 867 score.

Great Northwest Athletic Conference member, Saint Martin’s, finished eighth and the Yellowjackets jumped Northwest Nazarene in the final round for 12th.  The Crusaders were 13th with a 926 score, followed by future GNAC member Simon Fraser with a 927 score.

MSUB’s Jacob Harr fired the low-round of the day on the team with a 69 to finish with a 224 score (76 – 79 – 69) and tied for 38th.  Tyler Nicholas led the Yellowjackets with a 222 score, carding rounds of 74, 72 and 76, finishing tied for 27th.  Jeff Allen improved each round and finished 66th after a 73 on Tuesday.  Allen opened the tournament with an 87 and a 79 yesterday for a 239 total.  KC Kindle finished tied for 67th with a 241 score, followed by Travis Gates who tied for 71st with a 244 score.

The men’s team will be back in action Oct. 4-5, at the North Idaho College Invitational in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.  It will be the final fall tournament of the year.  The spring season is scheduled to begin Mar. 15-16, 2010, at the Lewis-Clark State Invitational.   

12   Montana St. Billings     320  307  294    921
T 27    Tyler Nicholas           74   72   76    222
T 38    Jacob Harr               76   79   69    224
66    Jeff Allen               87   79   73    239
T 67    KC Kindle                85   80   76    241
T 71    Travis Gates             85   77   82    244