Warner Pacific, The Master's College Tied for Lead after First Day at CCC Champs/NAIA Unaffiliated Qualifier
FIRST DAY RESULTS
MONROE, Ore.—No. 11 The Master’s College shot a tournament-low 305 in the second round of the CCC Championships/NAIA Unaffiliated Regional Qualifier at Diamond Woods Golf Course on Monday, moving the team into a tie for first place at the tournament with Warner Pacific at the end of the first day of competition.
Both The Master’s College (314-305) and Warner Pacific (306-313) have a two-round total of 619, six strokes ahead of third-place Concordia at 625 (311-314).
The tournament will conclude with a final round Tuesday April 16, with the winning team earning an automatic berth into the NAIA National Tournament. Both Warner Pacific and Concordia have never made the national tournament, while The Master’s College has made six national appearances in school history.
The tournament will also determine the 2012-13 CCC Champion, and even as Warner Pacific takes a six-day lead over the Cavs into the final round, Concordia leads the conference standings by 85 strokes, putt the team in good position to claim its sixth straight CCC title.
Besides the top three teams, Corban ranks nine strokes back of Concordia for fourth (319-315—634), while Arizona Christian ranks fifth at 636 (326-310), Northwest Christian ranks sixth at 647 (324-323), Biola ranks seventh at 648 (329-319) and The College of Idaho ranks eighth at 654 (334-320).
Individually, Andrew Johnson continues to lead the tournament as he did after the first round, though he fell back to the field a little bit with a 5-over par 77 in the second round. Johnson now leads the tournament by only one stroke over Corban’s Jared Lambert (74-74—148) after leading Lambert by four strokes following the first round.
Johnson moved ahead of Northwest Christian’s Tyler Falk in the CCC Player of the Year chase, however, as Falk shot a 6-over par 78 in the second round to put him one stroke behind Johnson after the two had been tied following the first round.
Concordia’s Jed Dalton, meanwhile, had entered the tournament just three behind Falk in the CCC Player of the Year chase, but now trails Johnson by nine strokes and Falk by eight after totaling a 14-over par 158 (78-80) over the first two rounds of play.
The CCC Player of the Year award goes to the individual within the CCC who has the lowest scoring average in conference tournaments over the season.
Besides Johnson for Warner Pacific, A.J. Nelson finished the first day tied for fifth overall (78-75—153), while John-Michael Pilot (79-79—158) finished tied for 12th, Michael Salisbury finished tied for 22nd (79-82—161) and Zach Cummings (84-91—175) finished 37th.
The Master’s College, meanwhile, had all five of its golfers place in the top 20 with Thane Ringler leading the way, as he tied for fifth at 153 (79-74). Besides Ringler, Michael Reitz (78-78) and Andrew Bergoon (81-75) each tied for ninth at 156, while John Lawson tied for 16th at 159 (76-83) and Nolan Sand tied for 18th at 160 (82-78).
Jess Wingett led the way for Concordia, as he finished the first day fourth overall, and five strokes back of the leader Johnson, at 152 (75-77). Behind Wingett, Dalton and Tanner Maahs (76-82) tied for 12th overall at 158, while Kolton Kyne tied for 18th at 160 (82-78) and Josh Vizcaino tied for 22nd at 161 (82-79).
The College of Idaho’s Kyle DeLorey also placed third overall with a two-round total of 151 (77-74), four strokes back of Johnson.
The tournament will also determine the All-CCC team, which comprises of the top seven golfers in the conference in terms of scoring average in conference tournaments. After the first two rounds, Johnson, Falk, Dalton, Lambert, DeLorey, Kyne and Wingett all stand in line for all-conference honors.
In addition, the Cavs’ Maahs for the Cavs, as well as the Knights’ Pilot and Nelson, remain in play for all-conference honors, as they only rank a few strokes out of the top seven. Maahs and Pilot trail Kyne and Wingett, who sit tied in the standings, by seven strokes for the final spot on the all-conference team, while Nelson trails the pair by eight strokes.
ROUND ONE RECAP
MONROE, Ore.—Warner Pacific leads the CCC Championships and NAIA Unaffiliated Regional Qualifier by five strokes over Concordia on the men’s side after one round at Diamond Woods Golf Course Monday.
Warner Pacific shot a 306 in the first round to take the lead, five strokes ahead of Concordia (311), and eight strokes ahead of No. 11 The Master’s College (314).
The early lead gives Warner Pacific the chance to make history, as the school could qualify for the NAIA National Championship for the first time in history if it wins the tournament.
Concordia, meanwhile, also stands in good position to make history, as even after Warner Pacific's lead in the first round, the Cavaliers still lead the CCC standings by 86 strokes. If the Cavs hold onto their lead through the next two rounds, then they'll win their sixth straight CCC title.
Teams will play a second round Monday, then conclude the tournament with a final round on Tuesday.
Warner Pacific’s Andrew Johnson helped lead the Knights to their first-round lead, as he holds a four-stroke lead over Corban’s Jared Lambert for the individual lead after the first round. Johnson shot a 2-under par 70 in taking the first round lead, which also temporarily puts him in a tie with Northwest Christian’s Tyler Falk for CCC Player of the Year honors. Johnson came into the tournament five-strokes back of Falk for the honor, but made up all five-strokes in the first round as Falk shot a 3-over par 75.
Concordia’s Jed Dalton was also only three strokes back of Falk heading into the tournament, but now stands six strokes back of Johnson and Falk after shooting a 6-over par 78.
Besides Johhnson, Warner Pacific’s A.J. Nelson, John-Michael Pilot and Michael Salisbury shot a 78, 79 and 79, respectively, to round out the team scoring for the first-place Knights.
Meanwhile, Jess Wingett led Concordia to a second-place finish with a 3-over par 75 that tied him for third overall. Behind Wingett, Tanner Maahs shot a 4-over par 76 to tie for fifth overall, while Dalton’s 78 placed him tied for eighth. The Cavs had a drop off from there, though, as Kolton Kyne and Josh Vizcaino each tied for 22nd overall after each shot a 10-over par 82 in the first round.
At the same time, The Master’s College, which came into the tournament as the clear favorite for the qualifying spot for nationals, placed third after the first round after only two of its top four golfers placed in the top 10. John Lawson led The Master’s College with a 4-over par 76 to tie for fifth, while Michael Reitz finished tied for eighth after shooting a 6-over par 78.
Behind the top three teams, Corban stands in fourth at 319, Northwest Christian ranks fifth at 324, Arizona Christian ranks sixth at 326, Biola ranks seventh at 329 and The College of Idaho ranks eighth at 334.
The tournament will also determine the All-CCC team, which comprises of the top seven golfers in the conference based on scoring average after all five CCC tournaments. After round one, Johnson, Falk, Dalton, Lambert, The College of Idaho’s Kyle Delorey, Kyne and Wingett stand in line to make the team. Maahs only ranks two strokes behind Wingett for the seventh and final spot, however, while Pilot only ranks three strokes back of Maahs.