By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – On a blustery day at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, Northwest Nazarene’s Ben Mulder was unfazed as he played his way to the top of the leaderboard to kick off the 2025 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championships.
 
The NNU sophomore shot a two-round score of 4-under-par 138 (69-69) on the par-71, 6,466-yard course, and holds a four-stroke lead with the final round coming up on Tuesday morning.
 
Simon Fraser holds the advantage in the men’s team race, after posting a team score of 579 (301-278) on the first day of action Monday. That is good for an eight-stroke lead over second-place Western Washington, which shot a 587 (301-286) across the first two rounds.
 
The third and final round is scheduled to tee off at 8:03 a.m. (Pacific) on Tuesday morning. Live results will be available online here.
 
On a day that featured rain, sustained winds of 15 MPH and moments of sunshine, Mulder recorded seven birdies on his way to being the lone player to shoot under par. His opening round started with a birdie on the par-5, 520-yard first hole, and featured four total birdies including a 2-under-par 34 on the back-nine. Mulder followed with an equally impressive second round, that featured 16 pars and two birdies as he kept himself out of trouble. Mulder has his sights set on becoming the first man in GNAC history to win the GNAC Championships medalist honors.
 
The closest to the Nighthawk sophomore was Western Washington’s Nick Ennis, who carded an even-par 142 (73-69) over his first two rounds of play. Playing in the championship event for the second straight year, Ennis matched Mulder with seven birdies on Monday and finished strong with a 2-under-par 69 in the second round of action. Ennis jumped up the leaderboard by completing his day with consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th holes.
 
Helping Simon Fraser into the team lead was a strong individual performance by sophomore Denby Carswell, who is tied for third place with a two-round score of 144 (76-68). The reigning GNAC Freshman of the Year cut off eight strokes between rounds on Monday, making five birdies and no worse than a bogey his second time through. SFU placed four players in the top-10, with Max Corcoran tied for fifth with a 145 (77-68), Brendan O’Brien tied for seventh with a 146 (71-75) and Danny Im tied for ninth with a 148 (79-69).
 
Along with Ennis, the Vikings had two other top-10 players on the first day of action. Freshman Michael Killmer sits tied for seventh after posting a 146 (76-70) and junior Peter Dionne-Yahr is tied for ninth after a 148 (77-71). David Sibbett, the conference’s leading player in terms of stroke average entering the event (70.3), is tied for ninth after carding a 151 (75-76) on Monday.
 
Northwest Nazarene shot the top first-round score at 194 and posted a 198 in the second round to sit in third place with a two-round total of 592. After Mulder, the Nighthawks’ Kasey Gaff was the next performer as he sits in 11th place with a 149 (75-74). Colton Sisk is also in the top half of the leaderboard after shooting a 151 (73-78) on Monday.
 
The top individual round on Monday came from Carter Sheets of Saint Martin’s, as he closed his day with a 4-under-par 67 in round two. That was an 11-stroke improvement from his first-round 78, and he is in a tie for fifth place with a 145 total. Sheets’ stellar second round featured five birdies and an eagle on the par-5, 491-yard 15th hole. He was the lone player with multiple eagles on Monday, as he made a 2 on the par-4, 254-yard 17th hole as well. Teammate Gavin Klein also had a sturdy performance on Monday, shooting a 144 (70-74) to stand in a tie for third place. SMU’s Rasmus Tamker is also in the upper half, tied for 12th with a total of 150 (74-76). The Saints posted a two-round team total of 593 (301-291) and are just one stroke behind the third-place Nighthawks.
 
Completing the field of teams was Montana State Billings, which shot a score of 640 (327-313) on Monday. Hayato Ito was the team’s top performer, posting a 155 (80-75) to enter the final round in a tie for 16th place.