POST FALLS, Idaho – Whitworth made a strong charge on Sunday, but Whitman also played well and held off the Pirates by two strokes to win the 2023 Northwest Conference men's golf Spring Classic at The Links Golf Club.
The Pirates went into Sunday trailing by eight strokes and cut the margin to a single stroke before the Blues prevailed.
The final team scores were: Whitman 586, Whitworth 588, Willamette 595, Linfield 601, George Fox 616, Puget Sound 635, Pacific Lutheran 635, Pacific (Ore.) 640, Lewis & Clark 675.
Scores improved significantly on Sunday from Saturday's round. Whitworth and Willamette shared the low team score of the tournament on Sunday (282, -6).
Whitman's Tom Hoyne was the medalist with a final tally of 69-71 – 140 (-4).
Jacob Rawley led the Pirates' charge on Sunday with his own spectacular round. He finished 78-67 – 145 to tie for fourth place. Oliver Nordberg was one of those also tied for fourth after he posted 74-71 – 145. Sam Pauly (75-71 -146) tied for seventh place to give the Bucs three among the top ten individuals.
Aaron Storem (82-73 – 155) tied for 19th and Matthew Durkin (79-77 – 156) tied for 22nd place.
The NWC Spring Classic counts as 25% of the final NWC standings. Including results from the 2022 NWC Fall Classic, Whitworth has a slight lead over Willamette and Whitman. The current total points are: Whitworth 15, Whitman 14, Willamette 13, Linfield 10, PLU 6.5, George Fox 5, UPS 4.5, Pacific (Ore.) 4, Lewis & Clark 0.
The Pirates are set for the 2023 NWC Tournament (April 22-23) in Woodburn, Ore.
