Bearcats Hold Fifth Place after First Two Rounds of West Cup
By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
LA VERNE, Calif. -- Willamette University completed the first two rounds of the West Cup in fifth place on Monday, March 25, as the Bearcats earned a 36-hole score of 601 at the Sierra La Verne Country Club. La Verne University (Calif.), which is hosting the event, was atop the team leaderboard at 586.
Kenneth Sheldon (Sr., Ocean Park, WA/Ilwaco HS) led the Bearcats with a score of 150 and was tied for 15th out of 83 golfers in the individual standings. Three more Bearcats, senior Trent Jones (Kenmore, WA/Shorecrest HS) and freshmen Austin Davis (Culver City, CA/Culver City HS) and Andrew Kibbee (Kenmore, WA/Bothell HS), each shot a 152 and were tied for 22nd place.
The tournament will conclude with the final 18 holes on Tuesday, March 26.
La Verne shot 291 in the first round and 295 in the second round for its total of 586. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) was second at 588, just two strokes behnd the Panthers. CMS carded a score of 304 in the first round and earned the day's low round with a 284 over the second 18 holes. University of Redlands (Calif.) was third at 590 (296-294) and Pacific Lutheran University was fourth at 598 (300-298). Willamette's fifth place score of 601 included a 298 in the first round and a 303 in the second round.
Leading the individual standings at the prestigious tournament was Ken Kong from Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 1-over-par 143. Kong shot a 75 in the first round, before shooting the low round of the day with a 68. Jason Brown of La Verne and Alex Wrenn of CMS were tied for second place at 144, just one stroke behind Kong. Brown registered a 69 in the first round to join Kong as the only golfers with a round below 70. Brown carded a 75 in the second round. Wrenn shot 74 in the first round and 70 in the second round.
Jared Beals of Pacific Lutheran was fourth at 146 with back-to-back rounds of 73. Hisham Hussein of La Verne and Derrick Phelps from Whitworth University were tied for fifth place at 147 after both golfers shot 74-73.
Sheldon recorded his 150 for Willamette by earning a 73 in the first round and a 77 in the second round. He was one of four golfers tied for 15th. Jones and Davis each shot 74-78 on their way to 152. Kibbee achieved scores of 77 and 75 to reach 152. The trio of Bearcats were joined by four other golfers in a 7-way tie for 22nd. Also competing for Willamette was Sam Hinton (Sr., Seaside, OR/Seaside HS) who ended the day at 159. He shot an 86 in the first round, but recovered with a 73 over the next 18 holes for Willamette's lowest score in the second round.
Big Moment of the Day for Willamette
Kenneth Sheldon carded a score of 73 in the first round of the
West Cup. His score helped the Bearcats earn a team score of
298 over the first 18 holes of the 54-hole event. Sheldon added
a 77 in the second round and was tied for 15th out of 83 golfers
at the end of the day. Willamette shot a team score of 303 in the
second round and was fifth in the team standings at 601.