Martin Shoots 71, Men's Golf Takes Third

News Release Date:
Sunday, October 23

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- With freshman Scott Martin shooting a 1-under par 71, Whitman College carded its best team score in more than a decade and jumped over two other schools on Sunday to finish third at the Northwest Conference Fall Classic at Heron Lakes in Portland.

Martin, who had Sunday's second-best individual score, paced the Missionaries to a 297 team total (top four golfers). That was low team score -- by five strokes -- in the closing round.

Scott Martin

By shaving 18 strokes off its Saturday score, Whitman skipped past Pacific Lutheran and Whitworth to finish third with a 36-hole total of 612. That was just six strokes behind second-place Linfield.

Puget Sound followed Saturday's 288 with a 305 on Sunday to take first place with a 593 team score.

Whitman's third-place finish was its best performance at the Fall Classic since 2000, when it also placed third.

Martin's Sunday score knocked six shots off his opening round 77, giving him a share of third place with a 148 total.

Geoff Burks

Pacific Lutheran's Dustin Hegge shot rounds of 68 and 76 to take medalist honors at 144. Puget Sound's Matt Kitto (69-77 146) was the runner-up.

Whitman junior Geoff Burks also had a better round on Sunday, shooting a 1-over par 73 to tie for eighth place at 151.

Sophomore Andrew Welch was five shots better in the closing round, firing a 75 to finish at 155.

Jonathan Standen, also a sophomore, completed Whitman's team score on Sunday with a 78. That was seven strokes better than his opening round and left him with a 163 total.

Senior John Abercrombie also played for Whitman, shooting back-to-back rounds of 80 for a 160 total.

The tournament, which wraps up the fall golf season, counts for 25 percent of the team scoring used to determine the final season-long standings.

The men's classic was played on the Great Blue Course (6,491 yards) at Heron Lakes.

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu