Hinton Finishes in 8th Place at NWC Spring Classic in Men's Golf
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Sam Hinton (Jr., Seaside, OR/Seaside HS) of Willamette University took eighth place at the Northwest Conference Spring Classic in men's golf with a 36-hole score of 150, as the tournament concluded on Sunday, April 8 at Hangman Valley Golf Course. Willamette placed fifth in the team standings at 638.
Keegan Loo from Whitworth University won the individual championship out of 44 competitors with a score of 2-under-par 142. Loo shot a 71 in both rounds. Alex Plusquellec of George Fox University was second at 1-under par 143 with scores of 73 and 70. His 70 on Sunday was the low round of the tournament.
Jared Beals and Jordan Brajcich, both from Pacific Lutheran University, tied for third place at 148 along with Reilly Hegarty from Whitworth. Beals and Brajcich both shot 74-74, while Hegarty carded 72-76. Austin Darnell of PLU and Logan Davis from Linfield College tied for sixth at 149, as Darnell shot 75-74 and Davis shot 73-76. Hinton followed in eighth at 150 with a 74 in the first round and a 76 in the second round.
A tie for ninth place included George Fox golfers Mason Koch and Clayton Rajewich. Both earned scores of 151, with Koch carding 74-77 and Rajewich shooting 75-76.
Hinton was joined by four other Bearcats. Kenneth Sheldon (Jr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) placed 24th at 159. He shot an 83 in the first round and improved by seven strokes to a 76 in the second round. Ben Graham (Fr., Renton, WA/Liberty HS) tied for 25th place at 160 (79-81). Trent Jones (Jr., Kenmore, WA/Shorecrest HS) shot 169 (86-83). Spencer Hong (Sr., Bellevue, WA/Singapore American School) shot 175 (87-88).
Pacific Lutheran achieved the team title at 598 with consecutive round of 299. Whitworth took second place at 600 (299-301) after entering the second round tied for first place with the Lures. George Fox was third at 60-3 (301-302) and Linfeld was fourth at 612 (313-299). Willamette's fifth place score of 638 included rounds of 322 and 316. University of Puget Sound followed in sixth place at 646 (322-324), while Pacific University was seventh at 657 (324-333), Whitman College was eighth at 661 (330-331) and Lewis & Clark was ninth at 752 (383-369).
The NWC Spring Classic is one of three tournaments used to determine the overall NWC champion. The Spring Classic is worth one-fourth of the overall title and the NWC Fall Classic is worth one-fourth. The NWC Tournament, set for April 21-22, counts for one-half of the title.
With action completed in the Fall Classic and the Spring Classic, the current leader is Pacific Lutheran with 14 points. The Lutes were third at the Fall Classic. George Fox, which took second at the Fall Classic, hold second place overall with 13 points. Willamette, which won the Fall Classic, is tied for third with Whitworth at 12 points. The Pirates wee fourth at the Fall Classic. Linfield is fifth with 9 points, Puget Sound is sixth with 6 points, Pacific is seventh with 4 points, Whitman is eight with 2 points, and Lewis & Clark is ninth with zero. Points at the NWC Tournament will be awarded on a 16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2-0 basis.
The Bearcat will be back in action when they host the Willamette Spring Thaw on Saturday, April 14 and Sunday, April 15. The tournament will be held at Pronghorn Golf Resort in Bend, Oregon.