2007-08 Men's Golf Season Review
THE
SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME: As the Pacific men's golf program continues
to build towards their goal of winning their first Northwest Conference
title since 1993, the Boxers are certain to put much of that weight on
Max Bonk.
Bonk put together a phenomenal freshman season. The Kamuela, Hawaii, native earned All-NWC honors after winning both the NWC Spring Classic and NWC Championships tournaments. Bonk won the NWC Spring Classic by a strong six strokes over teammate Taryn Braseth. At the NWC Championship, Bonk was four strokes better than Pacific Lutheran's Chris Packard.
The efforts capped a regular season in which Bonk served notice that he will be a factor for the next three seasons. Bonk won all but one event he competed in during the spring half of the regular season, tying for third at the Pacific Invitational. In all, Bonk finished in the top-6 in all but two of the 12 events he competed in. His victories and his 74.40 strokes per 18 holes average were enough to earn the freshman a berth at the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
NATIONWIDE TOUR: Bonk earned Pacific's first ever berth in the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships, becoming one of just five individuals nationwide to be selected to join the field at the Chateau Elan Golf Resort in Brazelton, Ga., just outside of Atlanta. Bonk had certainly impressed the selection committee, which made him the No. 1 seeded individual in the field.
In the opening round, Bonk played up his billing with his second best round of the season, turning in a two-under-par 69 on the resort's 7,100-yard Chateau Course and entered the clubhouse just one stroke behind eventual champion Scott Harris, Jr., of St. John Fisher. The tree-lined Woodlands Course and a cold took Bonk off his game on day two, however, blowing up to a 10-over-par 81 for his worst round of the season.
Bonk settled down in rounds three and four, but never quite regained the form that he had on the first day. He shot a 76 on day three and 77 on day four, both on the Chateau Course. The efforts allowed Bonk to finish in a tie for 28th place, finishing just off the pace for All-American honors.
"All in all, it was a successful week," said Pacific Assistant Coach Chris Zoucha, who accompanied Bonk to the tournament. "Max always has his expectations a lot higher than a normal freshman would have for himself because he has that much game, that much skill and that much confidence in himself. He just never got the bounces. He just never got the rhythm and roll that that he normally has."
The efforts, however, earned Bonk some well-deserved recognition. Bonk was one of 12 golfers named to the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA)/PING Division III West Region Team (the only NWC golfer so honored), was selected to the GCAA's All-Freshman Team and was also the west region finalist for the GCAA's Mickelson Award, given to the top Division III freshman golfer.
2007-08 Season
FINAL NWC STANDINGS: Linfield 30, Whitworth 28, Pacific 26, Puget Sound 18, Pacific Lutheran 18, Willamette 12, George Fox 5, Lewis & Clark 4, Whitman 3
ALL-NWC & NWC CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALIST: Max Bonk
GCAA/PING WEST REGION TEAM: Max Bonk
GCAA/PING ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: Max Bonk
Come the spring, however, the Boxers proved that they were ready to make a move. After winning the George Fox Invitational and placing third at the Pacific Invitational, the Boxers put things together at the NWC Spring Classic. After posting a season-low round of 292 on the first day to build a nine-stroke lead over Linfield, Pacific continued to blister the field on day two thanks to a one-two finish by Max Bonk and Taryn Braseth. The Boxers finished with a 22-stroke victory over Whitworth, forcing a three-way tie in the NWC point standings with Linfield and Whitworth.
That set up a showdown between the three teams at the NWC Championship to decide who would advance to the NCAA Tournament. Bonk did his part, shooting a first round of four-under-par 68 on his way to a two-day score of 141 to finish four strokes better than PLU's Chris Packard and earn medalist honors. Linfield, however, rose to the occasion by placing two golfers in the top six to win the tournament and the championship with a team score of 591. Whitworth was second at 605 and Pacific third at 609.
TARYN
IT UP: Taryn Braseth has seen Pacific men's golf from its mediocre
days to where, the last two seasons, they have been able to contend for
the conference championship. Much of that success has been a result of
some steady golf from the senior from Vernonia. Braseth shot rounds of
73 and 74 to win the Boxers' first two events of the season, the Pacific
5-Way and the Willamette 5-Way. He kept things up going into the NWC Fall
Classic, where rounds of 75 and 75 were good enough for fifth place.
Braseth opened the spring with a second place finish at the George Fox Invitational, finishing two strokes behind teammate Max Bonk. He equaled the feat at the NWC Spring Classic, finishing six strokes behind Bonk to finish in second place. He finished up his Pacific career by shooting a 155 at the NWC Championships, finishing just out of running for all-conference honors. Braseth finished the year with the second lowest stroke average on the team, managing an 18-hole average of 76.69 in 16 rounds.
SOLID FRESHMEN: Outside of Bonk, the Boxers have also continued to a build a base with the addition of a pair of freshmen who made solid contributions to the program. Ben Wright played a key role particularly in the fall, finishing in the top-10 in four of the six events he played in. His shining moment of the year came in the NWC Spring Classic, where his round of 153 tied him for sixth place overall to help Pacific win the event.
Parrish Evans, meanwhile, also played a significant role in getting the Boxers into championship contention. The Cave Junction, Ore., native played in eight events, topped by an 11th place finish at the season-opening Pacific 5-Way Tournament.