United Athletic Conference

Grand Canyon's Jake Chanen has been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Golfer of the Week for April 3 to April 9.

 

Chanen, a junior from Phoenix (Thunderbird HS), fired three sub-par rounds to tie for third place at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in Chandler, Ariz. He consistently improved over the tournament, shooting a 2-under-par 70 in the first round, a 3-under-par 69 in the second round and a 4-under-par 68 in the final round to finish with a 9-under-par 207. He had a streak of 35 straight holes without a bogey during the tournament and helped lead the Lopes to a third-place team finish as well thanks to a WAC-best 17-under-par 271 in the second round.

 

Other men's nominees: UT Rio Grande Valley's Henry Fisher led the team with a 3-under-par 213 to tie for 20th-place at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic … Utah Valley's Gabe Lysen tied for 32nd at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic, shooting a season-best even-par 216.

 

Just a handful of tournaments remain in the regular season before the 2019 WAC Men's Golf Championship on April 27-29 at Oakbrook Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash. Grand Canyon wraps up the regular season on Sunday and Monday, participating in the El Macero Classic in California. California Baptist heads to the Sandpiper Intercollegiate in Goleta, Calif while NM State heads to Houston for the Bayou City Classic. Chicago State will remain in the Land of Lincoln, heading to Macomb, Ill. for the Beu Mussato Invitational. Kansas City concludes the regular season schedule on April 20-21 when the Roos travel to Iowa City for the Hawkeye Invitational.

 

Grand Canyon holds the top team stroke average at 288.3 through 30 rounds. Kansas City is a close second at 288.5, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley in third at 289.4. Individually, Kansas City's McCain Schellhardt has the top stroke average at 71.4 per round. UTRGV's Alvaro Hernandez is second at 71.5, followed by CBU's Ben Hallam at 71.6. UMKC's Max Catherine is fourth at 71.9, followed by GCU's Filip Lundell ranked fifth at 72.0.

 

It's been a winning 2018-19 around the WAC with four teams and six individuals earning the top spot in several different tournaments. In the fall, NM State won the team title and Mike McGilton won medalist honors at their own Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate. UT Rio Grande Valley took home the team title at the Brooks Invitational, led by medalist Tae Itthiratchia. 

 

The spring has already seen four individual champions as GCU's Filip Lundel won the UC Irvine Invitational, UTRGV's Tennoshin Ogawa won the La Tour Intercollegiate and Chicago State's Austin Dobrescu won the Alabama State Spring Kickoff. The UTRGV men's team also took home the team title at the La Tour Intercollegiate, giving the Vaqueros a pair of wins this season. Most recently, Kansas City's McCain Schellhardt tied for medalist honors to lead the Roos to the team title at the GCU Invitational.

 

California Baptist is the newest member of the Western Athletic Conference as the Lancers begin the four-year transition to NCAA Division I. While CBU will not be eligible to compete for the team title until the 2023 WAC Championship, the Lancers will be able to compete as individuals at the WAC Championship. 

 

The 2018 WAC Men's Golf Championship heads to the Pacific Northwest and Oakbrook Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash. Built in 1966, Oakbrook Golf Club features hundreds of oak trees and immaculate turf conditions. In 2012, Oakbrook opened its doors to the public after 56 years of private operations. Ryan Moore, PGA Tour professional and Tacoma native, brings his knowledge of championship golf to Oakbrook Golf Club through Ryan Moore Golf ownership, to continually improve the golf course and elevate the overall guest experience.