LACEY, Wash. – Making its move on the final round, Linfield trimmed 19 strokes from its first-round score to vault to the championship of the Northwest Conference Spring Classic, staged Saturday and Sunday at The Links at Hawks Prairie.

Slotting four golfers among the top 10, the Wildcats shot 322-303-625 to surge past conference foe Puget Sound, which placed second at 320-314-634.

Pacific (636) was a close third, followed by Whitworth (637), Whitman (662), Pacific Lutheran (671), and George Fox (697), with Willamette (753) rounding out the rest of the field.

Max Bonk of Pacific captured his fourth consecutive Spring Classic title, shooting a 75 on the final day to hold off Linfield’s Yutaro Sakamoto, who led the Wildcats with a score of 73 on the day. Bonk finished with a total score of 147, four strokes better than Sakamoto’s 151.

Alex Fitch improved his score by eight strokes on the second day to earn a share of fourth place at 156. The Wildcats’ A.J. Taylor (Jr., Kirkland, Wash.) was close behind at 158, showing a four-stroke gain from the first round to the second.

Matt Kitto of Puget Sound finished the tournament in third with a final score of 153, and Whitworth’s Cameron Whittle shared sixth with Taylor.

Linfield’s Josh Kay knocked two strokes off his first-round score to finish with a total of 160, good for a share of ninth place.

COMING UP: The Wildcats head to Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course to take part in the Pacific Invitational on April 16-17.