Jones Wins Individual Title in Playoff, as Bearcats Place Second at NWC Fall Classic
By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
CRESWELL, Ore. -- Trent Jones (So., Kenmore, WA/Shorecrest HS) of Willamette University won the individual championship at the Northwest Conference Fall Classic in men's golf on Sunday, Oct. 9 at the Emerald Valley Golf Club and Resort, after breaking a tie with Kyle Drugge from Pacific Lutheran University on the first playoff hole. Jones helped Willamette finish in second place in the team standings.
Jones and Drugge were tied for first place after 36 holes with scores of 146 on the par 72 course. Jones carded consecutive rounds of 73. Drugge shot a 70 in the opening round on Saturday and earned a 76 on Sunday. Jones broke the tie with a par on the first playoff hole, while Drugge recorded a bogey.
Pacific Lutheran won the team title at 589. The Lutes shot 297 in the first round and 302 in the second round. Willamette was second at 605, after carding a 305 in the first round and the lowest team score of the second round at 300.
George Fox University edged out Lewis & Clark College for third place. The Bruins earned a score of 610 (306-304), while L&C finished one stroke behind in fourth place at 611 (306-305). Whitworth University was fifth at 615 (303-312) and Linfield College was sixth at 618 (306-312). University of Puget Sound placed seventh at 653 (326-327), Whitman College was eighth at 684 (341-343), and Pacific University was ninth at 696 (346-350).
Following Jones and Drugge on the leaderboard was Mitchell Baldridge of PLU. He was just one stroke out of the lead at 147. He shot a 76 in the first round and then shot a 71 in the second round.
Three golfers, including Willamette's Peter Mitzel (Sr., Red Bluff, CA/Red Bluff HS), tied for fourth place at 148. Also shooting 148 were Mason Koch from George Fox and Ryan Sturdivan from Pacific Lutheran. Mitzell carded 78-70, while Mason shot 73-75 and Sturdivan shot 70-79.
The low individual round of the tournament was 70, recorded by Drugge and Sturdivan in the first round and by Mitzel during the second round. Baldridge earned the only other sub-par round with a 71 on Sunday.
Seventh place was shared by Lucas Balala of Linfield and Alex Nelson of PLU. Each shot 151, with Balala regsitering 75-76 and Nelson carding 72-79. A three-way tie for ninth at 152 included Drew Groshong of Lewis & Clark (76-76), Thomas Huddleston of Pacific Lutheran (75-77), and JackRyan O'Neil of Whitworth (76-76).
Jones and Mitzel were joined by Kenneth Sheldon (So., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS), Sam Hinton (So., Seaside, OR/Seaside HS) and Clark Wilson (Sr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) on Willamette's team. Sheldon shot 154 with back-to-back rounds of 77. Hinton and Wilson each finished at 160, with Hinton shooting 77-83 and Wilson shooting 80-80.
The NWC Fall Classic is one of three tournaments used to determine the overall NWC champion. The Fall Classic is worth one-fourth of the overall title, with the NWC Spring Classic also counting for one-fourth. The NWC Tournament counts for one-half of the title.
After the Fall Classic, Pacific Lutheran has 8 points toward the title, while Willamette has 7 points. George Fox has 6, with Lewis & Clark at 5, Whitworth at 4, Linfield at 3, Puget Sound at 2 and Whitman at 1. Points will also be awarded on an 8-7-6-etc. basis at the NWC Spring Classic, and will be doubled at the NWC Tournament.
Willamette has completed its fall schedule. The Bearcats will be back in action during the spring semester.