Bearcats Win Culturame Men's Classic with Four Golfers in Top 6

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

ALOHA, ORE. -- The Willamette University men's golf team won the Culturame Men's Classic by 31 strokes with a 36-hole score of 588, as the tournament concluded on Monday, Oct. 21 at The Reserve Vineyards and Golf Club. Ryan Kukula (Jr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) won the individual title with a 1-under-par 143, while three other Bearcats placed among the top six finishers to join him on the All-Tournament team.

Willamette entered the second round with a 25-stroke lead after shooting 295 on the first day. The Bearcats improved by two strokes to 293 on the second day.

Linfield College took second place at 619, after shooting 320 in the first round and carding 299 in the second round. Pacific University was third at 647 (333-314). The Willamette "B" team placed fourth at 660 (340-320) and George Fox University was fifth at 690 (344-346).

"With such a big lead going into today, you worry that they won't stay as focused and let that lead slip, but from the moment that we got on property all you heard them talking about was extending the lead and playing better than they did yesterday," WU Head Coach Patrick Daugherty said. "As I coach hearing that, it eases your apprehension about their preparedness to play."

All five golfers on the Willamette "A" team and two of the golfers in Willamette's "B" team shot in the 70s during the second round. Kukula, who topped the leaderboard on Sunday after shooting an even-par 72 in the first round, finished the second round with a 71 to win medalist honors by two strokes over WU teammate Clark Wilson (Fr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS).

Kukula put together a pair of very strong rounds.

"There is a reason why he is our best leader," Daugherty said. "He's very consistent, very level headed. He made great decisions today. When he's playing his best golf, he can go stroke-to-stroke with any player in our conference."

Wilson carded a two-day score of 145 with a 73 in the first round and an even-par 72 on Monday. Josh Mau from Pacific University earned third place at 146 (74-72), while Chase Lamothe (Fr., Corvallis, OR/Corvallis HS) of Willamette was fourth at 147 (73-74). Taylor Klopp from Linfield was fifth at 150 (76-74) and Jacob Armelino (Fr., Redding, CA/University Prep) of Willamette was sixth at 153 (77-76).

Jonathan Ross (Jr., Tukwila, WA/Foster HS) from the Willamette "B" team placed eighth at 155 (81-74), including a solid 74 in the second round. Steven Rodriguez (So., Red Bluff, CA/Mercy HS) also on the WU "B" team, was part of a 3-way tie for 12th after shooting 162 (83-79).

"This is the first tournament that we've put two consistent rounds together back-to-back, so we're playing our best at the right time with the NWC Fall Classic just around the corner."

Willamette's "A" team included Kukula, Wilson, Lamothe, Armelino and Peter Mitzel (Fr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS). Mitzel carded a 78 on Monday to finish at 165.

"The best part about their round today is that all of the guys took advantage of their scoring opportunities and minimized the big numbers," Daugherty said.

In addition to Ross and Rodriguez, members of the WU "B" team were Stephan Bartz (So., San Francisco, CA/San Francisco University High), Evan Fleming (So., Park City, UT/Park City HS), and Sean Rhodes (Fr., Redlands, CA/Redlands East Valley). Bartz achieved a 36-hole score of 170 (86-84), while Fleming shot 173 (90-83) and Rhodes shot 189 (94-95).

The Bearcats will compete at the Northwest Conference Fall Classic on Saturday, Oct. 26 and Sunday, Oct. 27 at the Stone Creek Golf Club in Oregon City, Ore. The Fall Classic is one of three tournaments that determine the overall NWC champion. The Fall Classic is worth one-fourth of the title, while the Spring Classic is worth one-fourth and the NWC Championship Tournament is worth one-half.