BLUE RIVER, Ore. - (From Kelly Bird, Linfield SID) Placing three players among the top five, Whitworth College took a strong first-day lead at the Northwest Conference men’s golf championships Sunday at Tokatee Golf Club.

Johnson is tied for the NWC individual lead

Click here for first day results.

The two-time defending NWC champion Pirates shot 292-283-575 to lead second-place Pacific Lutheran University by 14 strokes. Whitworth's second round 18-hole score of 283 is a new school record.

The Lutes shot 301-288-589, eight strokes better than Linfield College, which sits in third place at 304-293-597. Following are Pacific University, 302-299-601, Willamette University, 310-304-614, University of Puget Sound, 321-297-618, Whitman College, 329-310-639, and Lewis & Clark College, 334-325-659.

PLU’s Brian Misterek shot the tournament’s low round, carding a 67 on the second 18 holes. Misterek sits tied atop the leaderboard with Whitworth’s Steven Johnson (69-73), both at 142. Five golfers share third place, each carding matching 146s. They are Whitworth’s Patrick Dorsing (76-70) and Jordan Carter (76-70), Linfield’s Andrew Fitch, and Pacific’s Tim Andrew and Taryn Braseth. Willamette’s Martin Kraal (147) and PLU’s Jason Casey (148) were also within striking distance of claiming the individual title.

Whitworth's Andrew Parrot (80-70) and Sean Thompson (73-77) each shot two round scores of 150. James Dykes is right behind at 74-77 - 151.

TOURNEY NOTES: Tokatee Golf Club, about 35 miles east of Springfield, is surrounded by Cascade mountains and borders the scenic McKenzie River.

The final 18 holes will be contested Monday morning starting at 8 a.m.

Entering the NWC championships, Linfield held a narrow one-point lead over defending champion Whitworth in the points race for the conference crown, which includes the Fall Classic and Spring Classic, as well as the NWC championships. Teams receive two points for every team they finish ahead of at this week’s tournament. Leading the way are Linfield with 13 1/2 points, Whitworth is at 12 1/2, and Puget Sound has 9. Pacific and Pacific Lutheran both have 8 points.

Whitworth Golf Schedule / Results

Whitworth Roster