Brody Bonfilio (pictured) and Cody Roth lead WWU in tie for 49th place at 5-over-par 76 in the 2018 NCAA Division II Championships West/South Central Regional. PHOTO: WWU Athletics
WWU Golf battles wind during first round of NCAA II Championships
May 7, 2018
AMARILLO, Texas – The Western Washington University men’s golf team opened play in the 2018 NCAA Division II Championships West/South Central Regional on Monday on the La Paloma Course at Tascosa Golf Club.
WWU was in the first wave of tee times Monday morning and battled windy conditions throughout the first round to shoot a 32-over-par 316. Western ended the first day of the three-round, 54-hole tournament in 20th place in the 20-team field.
Freshman Brody Bonfilio (Boise, ID/Bishop Kelly) and junior Cody Roth (Bellingham, WA) led the Vikings each recording 5-over-par rounds of 76 on the 6,805 yard par 71 layout.Bonfilio and Roth are tied for 49th in the 108-player field.
“It was a different course today than when we played our practice round with the wind really blowing from the start,” said head coach Luke Bennett. “We dug ourselves a hole from the beginning and couldn’t get out of it. The good news is that we still have two rounds to play.”
St. Mary’s (TX) turned in the best team round of the day at 2-over-par 286, and will take a 4-stroke lead over 2nd-place Oklahoma Christian into the second round of the tournament. The top 10 is a tightly packed bunch, with Colorado Christian in 3rd place (+7, 291) and California Baptist and Chico State tied for 4th (+8, 292).
Eric Valenzuela of St. Mary’s led five players shooting in the 60s in the first round, carding a 5-under-par 66 to hold a one stroke lead over Oklahoma Christian’s Cameron Brown (-4, 67).
Tuesday’s second round is scheduled to start at 7:30 am, with the Vikings shifting to the afternoon wave of tee times starting at noon off the first tee. The second round of the tournament can be followed via the Live Leaderboard at Golfstat.com.
The top 5 teams in the team standings at the conclusion of the regional will move on to the NCAA Championships Finals beginning May 21 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama at The Shoals Golf Club – Fighting Joe Course.
