Sisler leads Warriors to third place finish at Willamette Invitational

March 17, 2008

FINAL RESULTS -- TEAM | INDIVIDUAL

Freshman Steve Landis fired an opening round of 5-over 77 in helping lead the Warriors to a 3rd place showing at the annual 36-hole Willamette Invitational. (Photo courtesy of Mark Colachico, Corban Sports Information Director)

SALEM, Ore. – Senior Ben Sisler (Corvallis, Ore.) fired a 36-hole score of 10-over 154 and freshman Steve Landis (Gladstone, Ore.) finished tied for 13th with a combined score of 14-over 158, as Corban's men's golf team finished third at Monday's Willamette Invitational held at Creekside Golf Club.

On St. Patrick's Day, Corban came away from the 36-hole tournament green with envy as NCAA Division II member Northwest Nazarene took home the team title after outlasting the 10-team field by five strokes.

Sisler opened the day with an 8-over 79 before rebounding with a second round team-low of 3-over 75. The senior began the final eighteen with an eagle of the opening hole, which catapulted him to a 2-under 34 after the front nine. Over the final eighteen holes, Sisler jumped from tied for eighth individually after the morning round to a spot on the medal stand.

Meanwhile, Landis fired a team-low score of 5-over 77 after the opening eighteen before turning in a score of 9-over 81 to end the day. The freshman was tied for sixth after the morning round before finishing a mere stroke out of a seven-way tied for sixth at the conclusion of the day.

Junior Wade Douglas (Ontario, Ore.) fired an opening round of 8-over 79 to tie with Sisler for second on the team after the morning eighteen before coming home with a final round of 13-over 85 to finish tied for 19th individually.

Senior Josh Greenslade (Spokane, Wash.) rounded out the Warriors' scoring, as he concluded the 36-hole event tied for 26th individually after firing rounds of 14-over 86 and 10-over 82. The senior tied for the team's best turn-around from Round #1 to Round #2, as Greenslade dropped a total of four strokes in the afternoon round to tie with Sisler.

Meanwhile, sophomore Jonathan McGuire (Canby, Ore.) and junior Nathan Furumasu (Gladstone, Ore.) finished tied for 45th and 48th respectively. The duo fired rounds of 40-over 184 and 42-over 186 respectively, as McGuire's highlight of the day was firing an opening nine of 3-over 39.

Besides Northwest Nazarene's team title, Central Oregon Community College finished as the tournament runner-up with a combined team total of 60-over 636 which was eight strokes better than Corban's 68-over 644. The Warriors outlasted fellow Cascade Collegiate Conference member Northwest Christian (69-over 645) and NCAA Division III member the University of Puget Sound (70-over 646) for a place on the medal platform.

Individually, Northwest Christian's Justin Ahrens won medalist honors thanks to a two-round total of 2-over 146. Ahrens recorded the lowest score of the day with an even-par round of 72 in the morning  and held a slim one-stroke lead heading into the afternoon. Over the final eighteen, Ahrens pulled away from the competition with a 2-over 74 to win by four strokes ahead of Chris Packard of Pacific Lutheran University.

Corban will return to the links on Monday and Tuesday, March 24th & 25th, when the Warriors host the conference's third qualifing tournament of the season at Diamond Woods Golf Course in Monroe beginning at 8:00 a.m.