By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – A stunning 4-iron strike by Parker Sawatzky of Saint Martin’s capped off an exciting second round of the 2026 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championships on Tuesday afternoon at the Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.
 
The sophomore connected purely on the long iron from 205 yards away on the 18th and final hole of the day, bringing forth a cheer from his teammates around the green as they watched his ball settle two feet from the cup. He confidently punched home the short birdie putt to put the finishing touches on his second consecutive 3-under-par 68, moving his name to the top of the leaderboard with a 2-round score of 6-under-par 136. “Parker did a nice job playing one shot at a time today,” said SMU head coach Anne Bahr. “He kept it steady and didn’t let himself get too high or too low. He took advantage of opportunities coming down the stretch and it was great to see another good round from him today.”
 
Conditions were near-perfect for the second straight day on the par-71, 6,446-yard course, with temperatures hovering near 70 degrees and wind no more than mild throughout the 18 holes of play.

Sawatzky made four of his five birdies on the day amid a 4-under-par 32 on the back-nine, as he overcame a 1-over-par 36 on the front to rocket up the leaderboard. He matched his season low for the second consecutive day, after making seven birdies on the way to his 68 in Monday’s first round. With 18 holes left to play on Wednesday, Sawatzky holds a two-stroke lead ahead of co-second-place Pete Netrnilweerachot of Montana State Billings and his SMU teammate Rasmus Tamker. Sawatzky will look to become the third man in Saint Martin’s history to win the GNAC Championships, with Hiro Nezu winning the inaugural event in 2008 and Tyler Fitchett claiming 2021 medalist honors.
 
While the individual leaderboard featured notable movement on Tuesday, the team leaderboard did not. Nationally-25th ranked Western Washington bolstered its firm grip on the lead with a 5-under-par 279 in the second round, moving to 15 strokes under par on the tournament at 553 total. The Vikings strengthened their bid for their GNAC-record 12th men’s golf conference title, moving 12 strokes clear of second-place Saint Martin’s.
 
After Peter Dionne-Yahr and Christopher Zamani each shot tournament-leading 5-under-par 66s in Monday’s first round, the Vikings relied on their other three players to do the heavy lifting on Tuesday. Nick Ennis shot a team-low 3-under-par 68, making five birdies throughout the day. That effort lifted Ennis to No. 8 on the individual leaderboard, as he holds a two-round total of even-par 142.
 
Rex Wilson and Conrad Brown each shot a 2-under-par 69 on Tuesday, contributing to WWU’s extension of the team lead. Wilson moved into a tie for fourth place in the tournament with a two-round total of 3-under-par 139, after he shot an even-par 71 his first time through the course. Brown meanwhile bumped up to fifth place on the leaderboard with a two-round total of 1-under-par 141.

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The Saints produced another solid round on Tuesday at 1-over-par 285, moving to 3-under-par 565 on the tournament. They hold a 12-stroke lead ahead of third-place Montana State Billings entering the final round. Along with Sawatzky’s chart-topping round, Tamker made a 2-under-par 69 for the second straight day to move into a tie for second place. Making a well-timed adjustment to his putting grip in the middle of the round, he overcame a slow start to make six birdies across his final 10 holes including four in-a-row to finish the day. Tamker walked off the 18th green pumping his fists, after draining a curling, 17-foot birdie putt to cap his red-hot finish to the day. “Rasmus was able to put the first seven holes behind him and made a great putting adjustment that allowed him to light it up on the back-nine,” said Bahr. “I am excited to see the putts drop for him knowing how much work he has put in at home.”
 
SMU also received a productive round from sophomore Davis Sheets, who finished the day with an even-par 71. Sheets made three birdies across his final eight holes, making a six-stroke improvement upon his first-round 76 and moving up to a tie for 17th place.
 
For the Yellowjackets, Netrnilweerachot matched Tamker with his second-consecutive 2-under-par 69 to keep himself in GNAC title contention. The sophomore also finished his round strongly, making three of his four birdies across the final six holes on his way to a 2-under-par 34 across the back-nine. “Pete is playing well and it is so easy to root for him because he is such a good guy,” said MSUB head coach Adam Buie. “He has finished both of the rounds this week on a really high note; 4-under the last seven holes of round one and 3-under the last six holes of round two.”
 
The ‘Jackets received even-par rounds from both Bowdie Fox and Aubrey Kelley on Tuesday. Fox moved up to ninth place on the leaderboard with a two-round total of 2-over-par 144, while Kelley climbed to 16th at 4-over-par 146. MSUB’s two-round team score sits at 577 (288-289).
 
Justin Bjornson of Simon Fraser turned in a near-perfect scorecard on Tuesday, making three birdies and just one bogey on his way to a 2-under-par 69. Bjornson followed Monday’s 70 by improving by a stroke and moving into fourth place on the leaderboard with a two-round total of 3-under-par 139. Bjornson has made six birdies and just three bogeys through the first 36 holes of the championship. “Justin putting himself in a position of contention is no surprise,” said SFU head coach Krysta Schaus. “This is his third year experiencing the course as a junior. His preparation leading up to the event and during the practice round show his maturity as a player and leader on our team.”
 
SFU’s other player to show improvement on Tuesday was Brendan O’Brien, who shot an even-par 71 with three birdies. That was three strokes better than his opening-round 74, as he moved up to 14th place. SFU moved up one spot in the team race with a two-round total of 580 (290-290).
 
Northwest Nazarene posted a team score of 294 on Tuesday, bringing its two-round total to 583 as it sits in fifth place. Noah Larson led the Nighthawks with a 1-over-par 72 in the second round, and he finished strong playing at 1-under-par across his final eight holes.
 
The third and final round of the 2026 GNAC Men’s Golf Championships is scheduled to begin at 7:52 a.m. on Wednesday. Live results for the final round will be available online here.