The Pacific Invitational, hosted by Pacific University, was a success for Linfield’s men and women’s golf teams. The men finished in second place, while the women placed fifth.
The men finished a mere four strokes behind Pacific. Given the wet, muddy conditions and that it was the first tournament of the season, head coach Greg Copeland said he was impressed by the team’s performance.
“I thought overall we played well,” he said. “It was good to get a tournament in to help us assess what we need to work on as we work through the spring. It appears that the battle for first in our conference will be close, and this tournament showed us we need to work hard.”
Senior Tyler Nelson led the ’Cats with a score of 144, tying for second place with Pacific senior Sean Hamer. Senior Joel Rychard and sophomore Alex Fitch finished sixth and seventh, respectively, with scores of 147 and 148. Seniors Tony Kordosky and Yutaro Sakamoto tied for 10th with a score of 150.
“Tony impressed me with one of his best rounds in a tournament,” Rychard said. “He showed that he can step up and shoot a good score when we need it.”
Junior Beau Slayton said he was encouraged by Rychard’s performance this weekend.
“He played a great tournament,” he said. “He shot well on both days and really well on Sunday.”
Despite the team’s performance, Copeland sees room for improvement.
“I think the area we need to improve the most is our shots around the green,” he said. “We left a lot of chip shots too far from the pins and then struggled to make the putts.”
On the women’s side, George Fox University finished in first place with a 645 total, 60 strokes better than second-place Pacific. Linfield finished with a total of 735. The Wildcats’ first-day total was 378, and their second-day total was 357, a 21-stroke improvement.
“We definitely improved as a team on Sunday,” freshman Brinn Hovde said. “This was our first tournament of the season, so it took a little bit to get back into routine, but we are headed in the right direction. It was good to just get back out on the course and get into the swing of things.”
Junior Brynn Hurdus led the Wildcats with a 10th-place finish with 177. Senior Brittany Johnston finished 11th.
“Johnston impressed me, shooting an 83, I believe, [on day two],” sophomore Meghan Crowder said. “As a senior, she is doing her part, and I know that her scores will just keep getting lower.”
Johnston was pleased by Hovde’s and Crowder’s performances.
“I was proud of Brinn on Sunday,” she said. “She shot 85, which I think is her best tournament score. I was also proud of Meghan. She didn’t play in the fall season, so this was her first tournament back, and I think she did really well.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams traveled to Fircrest, Wash., on March 4 for the Puget Sound Invitational that lasts through March 5.

Justin Derby
Sports reporter Justin Derby can be reached at [email protected]