CORVALLIS, Ore. – After a year hiatus, the Cascade Collegiate Conference Golf Championship, presented by U.S. Bank, is back. The men’s and women’s tournaments get started on Monday, April 26, at the TimberStone Golf Club in Caldwell, Idaho.
The winner of the tournament will get the CCC’s automatic qualifier to the NAIA National Tournament, while the regular-season conference championship will be determined by the best win/loss record of the regular season tournaments – including the conference tournament. In case of a tie, co-conference champions will be declared.
Women’s Tournament
On the women’s side, there are two teams vying for the top spot. No. 23-ranked Oregon Tech currently
leads the conference, while Lewis-Clark State College – which is receiving votes in the national poll – isn’t far behind in second.
Corban University, Bushnell University and College of Idaho will also compete for the tournament title. Walla Walla University will be represented by individuals and therefor won’t be eligible for the women’s team titles because the Wolves would have needed to score as a team in all tournaments to be eligible.
Corban’s Delainey Patterson is one woman to keep an eye on, coming off a first-place finish at the Bushnell Spring Invite. It marked the second time she won an event and the fourth top-five finish she’s had this year. She comes into the tournament with a 79.7 scoring average, ranking third in the CCC.
Oregon Tech’s Payton Canon also has her eye on the prize heading into the tournament, currently boasting the best score average in the CCC with a 76.8. She comes off losing the Bushnell Spring Invite by one stroke, but has three top-two finishes on the year, including winning the Oregon Tech Invitational to start the spring campaign.
LC State’s Lauren Hamm has kept pace with Canon all year and won both of the Warriors’ invites this year. She tied with Canon for second at the Bushnell Spring Invite, both just one stroke off Patterson’s top score. She sits in second in the conference with a 77.5 scoring average.
Men’s Tournament
Bushnell University comes off a solid win at its own invitational to jump to the top of the
conference standings, hoping to win its first-ever regular season championship. Oregon Tech – which is receiving votes in the NAIA – is right on the Beacons’ tail however, with Multnomah University also in the mix in third. Also competing for the trophy are College of Idaho, Lewis-Clark State, Corban and Walla Walla.
The individual race could be tight as several golfers boast a scoring average under 75 heading into the tournament. Bushnell University’s Jon Holzgang (74.1) comes off a win after claiming the top spot at the Bushnell Spring Invite. He recorded the best round of the tournament in the final round with a three-under 69 to finish at 220 and four-over par to win the event by one stroke.
Corban’s Kasey Crossland is .5 behind Holzgang with a 74.6 scoring average. He has two top-three performances so far, coming into the championship with some momentum after taking second at the Bushnell Spring Invite.
Oregon Tech’s Mayson Tibbs boasts a 75.7 scoring average and already has a couple tournament wins under his belt. He won the LC State Invitational on March 23 with an impressive 69 in the final round and also won the OIT Invite with a 223.
College of Idaho hosts the two-day tournament, set to start at 8 a.m. Mountain time both Monday and Tuesday. The men shoot three rounds (36/18), while the women (18/18) have two rounds – one each day.