SALEM, Ore. – The Whitworth men's golf team surged to the lead early on in Sunday's second round and never gave it up at the Willamette Valley Cup, hosted by Willamette University at Creekside Golf Club on Saturday and Sunday.
The Pirates trailed host Willamette by a stroke heading into Sunday's round, but started out two hours ahead of the Bearcats and surged to the front, thanks to four players finishing among the top ten individuals. The Pirates went into the clubhouse with the lead and the Bearcats could not close the gap.
The final team scores were: Whitworth 580 (+4), Willamette 583, Bushnell 594, Southern Oregon 604, Willamette B 607, Whitworth B 625, Puget Sound 628, George Fox 631, Pacific (Ore.) 650, Lewis & Clark 660.
Sunday's victory was the second of the 2022-23 season for the Pirates, after a first place finish during the 2022 Northwest Conference Fall Classic, also held in Salem.
Sam Pauly and Jacob Rawley tied for third place in the final individual standings. Both players went 72-72 – 144 to finish five strokes behind Jackson Muramoto of Bushnell and Andrew Kibbee of Willamette, who both shot 139 (-5).
Aaron Storem (70-75), who was in the hunt for medalist honors after Saturday's round, finished tied for sixth place. Matthew Durkin (76-71 – 147) tied for tenth place, moving up nine places from Saturday to Sunday. Oliver Nordberg (81-76 – 157) rounded out the top five for the Bucs in a tie for 23rd place.
The Whitworth B squad defeated the primary players from four NWC opponents. Gabe Cach led that group by finishing in a tie for 17th place with a score of 79-72 – 151 after moving up ten places on Sunday.
The Pirates hope to take the momentum from this victory into the Wynlakes Invitational, hosted by Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama next week.
