Kukula Finishes Second at Linfield Three-Way

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

McMINNVILLE, ORE. -- Ryan Kukula (Fr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) of Willamette University shot a 1-over-par 73 to achieve second place in the individual standings at the Linfield Three-Way on Saturday, Oct. 8 at Michelbook Country Club. Alex Fitch of Linfield won the tournament title by four strokes with a 3-under-par 69.

Linfield claimed the team championship with a score of 305. Willamette earned a team score of 311, as the Bearcats finished just six strokes off the pace set by the Wildcats. Pacific University was third with a score of 354.

Fitch and Kukula played well enough to separate their scores from the rest of the field. Kukula finished four strokes in front of three golfers who tied for third at 77. they were Kukula's Willamette teammate Jonathan Ross (Fr., Tukwila, WA/Foster HS) and Linfield golfers Ryan Nolan and A.J. Taylor. Taylor Klopp and Tommy Schmitz, both from Linfield, tied for sixth at 78.

"I hit the ball solid today but the putter decided to take the day off," Kukula said. "Now I just have to get back to the grind and fine-tune my game for the Fall Classic in two weeks. I'm going to push myself and my team extra hard over the coming weeks because I really want us to succeed. I know what we are capable of, and now we have to get to that level consistently, and that all starts with practice."

The efforts of Kukula and Ross highlighted the day for Willamette, which entered nine golfers in the event. Kody Plofker (Fr., Montclair, NJ/Montclair HS) tied for eighth overall with an 80. Taylor Mutch (Fr., La Grande, OR/La Grande HS) and Jacob Simonson (So., Fairview, OR/Reynolds HS) tied Nick Osborn of Linfield for 10th place at 81.

Other golfers for Willamette were William Ferguson (Fr., Arlington, VA/Hartsbrook HS) and Jeffrey Lewis (Fr., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS) at 82, J.T. Long (Fr.) at 88 and Brandon Shin (Fr., Mercer Island, WA/Mercer Island HS).