Story & photography by: Evan O'Kelly, GNAC Associate Commissioner for Communications

BOULDER CITY, Nev. – Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year Conrad Brown led the way for the Western Washington University men’s golf team on Tuesday, shooting a 3-under-par 69 in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships at Boulder Creek Golf Course.
 
After shooting a 1-over-par 73 on Monday, Brown boosted himself up the leaderboard as he sits in a tie for 26th place among the field of 108 players with one round of stroke play remaining in the championship. As a team the Vikings are in a tie for 15th place after shooting a 2-over-par 290 on Tuesday for a two-round total of 6-over-par 582. “The guys showed a lot of fight today while battling the early morning with high winds,” said WWU head coach Luke Bennett. “It was a grind from beginning to end.”
 
Brown’s round started with a bogey-free, 3-under-par 33 across the front-nine as he came out of the gates scoring low. On a day with blue skies and temperatures once again mostly in the 70s, intermittent wind gusts proved to be the most challenging factor impacting play. “Coach (Luke Bennett) had some really good numbers for me and gave me some good clubs,” Brown said on his strong start to the round.
 
 
One of his important club choices came on the par-3 eighth hole, which was playing slightly shorter than advertised despite a back-left pin location. Brown tucked a well-struck pitching wedge three feet from the pin to card his third birdie of the front-nine. He faced a challenging shot into the wind on the par-4, 440-yard sixth hole, but what started out as a pushed 7-iron from the fairway came to rest three feet from the pin to help him save another stroke. “Conrad played some exceptional golf, making awesome up-and-downs for par throughout the round,” said Bennett. “His round of 69 was fantastic.”
 
The wind also proved advantageous at times, exemplified by Brown’s tee shot on the par-5, 579-yard 13th hole which rolled out far down the fairway to leave him just a 54-degree wedge into the green. He stuck his approach shot inside of 10 feet, and knocked down that putt for his first eagle of the tournament. “That one was down-wind today so I could really attack it,” Brown said. “When you’re able to hit short irons into these greens and roll some putts in, it gives you some momentum.”
 
He hit another monster of a drive on the par-5, 635-yard 16th hole, with the ball taking a wayward bounce and settling in an awkward spot just off the right of the fairway. With the ball sitting below his feet but sitting up well, Brown lasered an 8-iron up onto the front of the green before two-putting for his fourth and final birdie of the day. Brown’s short game abilities were on full display throughout the round, as he had several notable up-and-downs on his way to scoring low. After the wind pushed his tee shot on the par-3, 179-yard 17th hole into trouble, he used a brilliant, low chip shot to give him a makeable final putt. He then found himself in a greenside bunker on the par-4, 469-yard 18th hole, where he expertly punched his ball out of the trap and made his final putt of the day from inside of 10 feet.
 
“That was a longer bunker shot, but I had a nice little slope off the bunker to help the ball funnel right down towards the hole,” Brown said on his final hole of the day. “When the wind is like this on the course, you might hit a quality shot but the result might not be good. It can test your patience, and you really have to rely on your short game and try not to get heated.”
 
Rex Wilson was another much-improved Viking on Tuesday, as he shot an even-par 72 to cut off seven strokes from his opening-day 79. The GNAC Newcomer of the Year had a particularly solid back-nine, making three birdies on his way to a 1-under-par 35 to finish the round. He put together an impressive stretch of 10 holes from 7-16 during which he made three birdies and seven pars, to help bring his round together. “It wasn’t too different of a round compared to yesterday, other than I made a birdie on Hole 10,” Wilson said regarding improving on a hole that gave him trouble on Monday. “I had it going at some points. To go bogey-free over those 10 holes was probably the highlight of the round. I really battled through it.”
 
Once again taking advantage of his length off the tees, Wilson set himself up for success and limited his mistakes to nothing worse than a bogey. He smoked a 319-yard drive on the 10th hole, punching a lob wedge into the green before sinking his second birdie putt of the day. Wilson’s bunker game was then twice tested on the par-4, 443-yard 11th hole, as his drive found the large trap in the middle of the fairway and his second shot wound up in a greenside bunker. He flopped a perfectly-judged shot onto the green from there, and knocked down the putt to keep his clean streak alive. “Rex played some very good golf today and I know he has built some momentum for tomorrow,” said Bennett. “We look forward to going out tomorrow potentially early and trying to post a number.”
 
Two more strokes were saved on the lengthy par-5s on the back, as Wilson scored on both Hole 13 and Hole 16. After a booming drive on the 13th, Wilson nestled a 160-yard, down-wind gap wedge to eight feet from the pin to give himself a look at eagle. Then on the 16th, he used a good drive and a 5-iron that carried to the left fringe of the green to ensure a comfortable two-putt for his fourth and final birdie of the day. Wilson’s two-round total of 151 has him sitting tied for 81st on the individual leaderboard.
 
Junior Christopher Zamani followed his team-leading 70 on Monday with a 2-over-par 74 his second time through the course, and he moved to a tie for 39th place in the standings. Getting off to a good start for the second day in-a-row, Zamani played at 1-under-par across his first four holes of the day and made three total birdies during the round. He also finished solidly, making four consecutive pars to close out the day. “In general I felt like I did a good job of staying patient,” he said. “These conditions are tough and it is easy to lose focus mentally. I think we all did a good job of staying in the moment out there and trusting our games.”
 
Zamani used the wind to his advantage for his first birdie of the day, smoking a 300-plus yard drive on the par-5, 582-yard second hole to leave himself a gap wedge into the green. Another one of his standout drives came on the par-4, 419-yard 10th hole, but challenging wind gusts resulted in a second shot that was too deep and an ensuing green-side pitch shot that didn’t release quite enough. Zamani buckled down however, knocking down an 18-foot putt that broke from right-to-left from above the hole to make a hard-earned par. “That par save on 10 started the momentum – I hadn’t seen many putts fall the whole tournament so that one felt good,” Zamani said as he kicked off a stretch of playing 2-under-par from holes 10-through-13. “I had a hard time judging the wind on that hole; I played the right number and executed the approach shot, but it just carried a bit.”
 
Zamani had another good par save on the 11th hole with a six-foot putt make, before rattling off back-to-back birdies on his way to a 1-under-par 35 across the back-nine. His 5-iron from the tee box on the par-3 12th hole settled 15 feet from the pin on the left side, and he drained an uphill putt with a confident stroke. A gusting wind aided his drive on the lengthy 13th hole, as he left himself a sand wedge into the green. “I took it over the far-left bunker because the wind was blowing harder, and I was able to take advantage of a nice opportunity,” Zamani said on his strategy on the 13th. “I had a look at eagle, and it was a nice, stress-free two-putt.”
 
Nick Ennis set the tone in the opening tee time of the day, getting off to a strong start on his way to a 3-over-par 75 for a one-shot improvement upon his Monday score. Ennis finished the day in a tie for 81st with a two-round score of 151. He used a crafty up-and-down for a par on the opening hole, before smoking his driver on the way to a birdie for the second straight day on the second hole.
 
The Vikings’ first eagle of the championship came at the hands of Ennis, who mastered the par-5, 533-yard fifth hole on Tuesday. After putting his driver in a good spot on the fairway, Ennis ripped a 200-yard 6-iron to 15 feet and knocked down a right-to-left putt from above the hole. “My putter felt good today, and my coach gave me some good reads,” Ennis said. “Even since the last day at regionals I have been feeling confident with that club.”
 
Like Brown, Ennis hit a stellar tee shot into the par-3 eighth hole as he carved a pitching wedge to five feet from 180 yards away. That helped solidify a 1-under-par 35 on the front-nine, while his final birdie of the day followed on the lengthy 16th hole. “I was ready and excited to be out here today,” said Ennis. “Overall today was solid. The wind was a little harder and the greens were a little tough, especially when you were above the hole. I had a lot of easy cleanups like I did yesterday.”
 
Also competing for the Vikings on Tuesday was senior Peter Dionne-Yahr, who finished with a 5-over-par 77 to move to a tie for 78th on the leaderboard with a two-round total of 150. One of his top moments of the day came on the second hole, where he hit an unbelievable punch shot from under a tree to get himself onto the green. He followed that with a sound drive on the par-5 fifth hole, before knocking a well-struck 4-iron inside of 15 feet for a two-putt birdie. Those efforts came amid a seven-hole stretch on the front-nine in which Dionne-Yahr played at 2-under-par, on his way to an even-par 36 to start the day.
 
Dionne-Yahr took the lead of his teammates and also saved a stroke on the par-5 16th hole. A booming drive left him with 186 yards to the pin and he let a 9-iron fly from down-wind to set up another comfortable two-putt. “I played solid golf early on,” said Dionne-Yahr. “I need to clean up my putting and need to feel more comfortable on the greens and in my short game. I feel like I am hitting the ball well, but my short game let me down today.”
 
Florida Southern is in first place after the first two rounds of play, shooting a two-round score of 558 (280-278) to hold a one-shot advantage over second-place Missouri St. Louis. Ian Pienaar of Columbus State is the individual leader after two rounds with a score of 10-under-par 134 (68-66), holding a two-shot advantage over co-second place Per Ekelund of West Florida and Octavio Laurent of USC Beaufort.
 
AHEAD: The final round of stroke play is scheduled to begin first thing Wednesday morning, with the Vikings teeing off starting at 8:15 a.m. A live leaderboard is available online here.
 
WWU’s Championship Lineup & Tee Times
All times listed are Pacific. All players tee off on Hole 1 (Desert Hawk Course)
Round 3 – May 20, 2026
8:25 a.m. – Nick Ennis
8:36 a.m. – Rex Wilson
8:47 a.m. – Peter Dionne-Yahr
8:58 a.m. – Christopher Zamani
9:09 a.m. – Conrad Brown
 
NCAA Championship Format
At the finals, all 20 teams and eight individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play. Following 54 holes of stroke play,
an individual champion will be declared along with finishers 2-10 based on cumulative total score and any applicable
tiebreakers. The top eight teams after 54 holes of play will be placed into a bracket and seeded based on 54-hole scores.
The pairings for the quarterfinals will be Seed 1 versus Seed 8, Seed 2 versus Seed 7, Seed 3 versus Seed 6 and Seed 4
versus Seed 5, competing in head-to-head medal play (stroke play over 18 holes and low score wins).
 
NCAA Division II Championship Records (GNAC Teams Since 2008)
54-Hole Total – 206, Jordan Lee, WWU, 70-67-69 (May 22-24, 2023)
72-Hole Total – 279, Sean Packer, WWU, 69-69-71-70 (May 14-17, 2008)
Single Round – 65, Jake Webb, WWU (May 22, 2013)
54-Hole Total, Team – 859, Simon Fraser, 289-285-285 (May 18-20, 2015)
72-Hole Total, Team – 1,129, Western Washington, 290-281-284-274 (May 14-17, 2008)
Single Round, Team – 274, Western Washington (May 17, 2008)