The 2023-24 PacWest men’s golf season is underway, and UH-Hilo’s Junsu Im captured the first Golfer of the Week honor.
Apparently there will be no “sophomore jinx” for Im.
The PacWest Freshman of the Year is off to a good start in 2023-24 after placing third in the SMU Bishop Invitational with a two-round score of -5, and a few days later he tied for sixth in another loaded field at the Western Washington Invitational.
At the Home Course in DuPont, Wash., Im shot 68-71-72 (-5) to finish one shot back of the winners, Easton Hether of CS East Bay and Max Turnquist of host St. Martin’s. He birdied 14 holes, including seven in the first round.
In Bellingham, the South Korean recorded rounds of 71-75-71 (Even par), to tie for sixth place but was only four shots behind the winner, Tyler Ashman of Chico State.
Additionally at the SMU Bishop, the Vulcans finished seventh as a team.
After Junsu Im, Dysen Park was the next UH Hilo player on the leader board at +5 (73-75-73).
HPU’s Hasnayn Nazir was the Sharks’ top scorer in 19th place at +4. HPU was tenth overall and Dominican was 13th.
In Bellingham, it was the Sharks that won the battle of Hawai’i by finishing fifth overall, while the Vulcans were seventh. HPU finished at +30 while UHH was two shots back at +32. After Junsu Im, Jacob Torres was UH-Hilo’s next golfer at +4 (74-70-76), tied for 13th. HPU’s Miles Atkinson tied for 17th at +5 (71-74-76).
Earlier this month, Westmont and Academy of Art made their season debuts at Sonoma State’s tournament. Andrew Knight was Westmont’s top golfer in 12th at +15, with ART U’s Allan Osornio recording the same score.
Two teams are in action next week, with both Academy of Art and Dominican set to participate in the Wildcat Invitational, hosted by Chico State. On Oct. 9-10, the Urban Knights will head to Goleta where new PacWest member Westmont will host the Westmont Invitational.