DUPONT, Washington – The two-time defending Pacific West Conference champions got off to a strong start with three Vulcans placing in the top 20 of a loaded regional field as Hawai'i Hilo Men's Golf finished fourth overall at the Saint Martin's Bishop Invitational at The Home Course.

The Vulcans finished with a one-over team score after three rounds of play led by Dysen Park's runner-up finish with four shots under par. Dylan Bercan followed up one stroke behind for a No. 4 individual placement.

"A top five finish to start off the year is pretty great," sophomore Park said. "All the guys grinded it out and we just got to keep going. It's a long season."

Park book-ended the event with round scores of 69 with a 74 wedged in between as part of a two-round opening day of competition. The back nine saw Park sink four birdies paired with two bogeys and two double bogeys.

"It was a roller coaster. I got unlucky on the fifth hole and I never really recovered, but it was nice to end it with a birdie," Park continued. "It's always a grind. I didn't finish too well so that was a bummer coming into today, but I just told myself it's a new day. I checked the leaderboard and the guy that won was so far ahead so I was just trying to finish strong and stay positive."

Bercan shot double rounds of 69 on Day 1 before shooting a 75 to slip down to No. 4 overall.

"I started off pretty solid and was able to ride that momentum through the first round," Bercan said. "The second round always gets really long — I mean we were out there for 11 hours — so just trying to do anything to stay focused and not let the mind wander. It was just putting my head down and hitting the shots I needed to."

Katsuhiro Yamashita also landed in the top 20, opening with a 69 round and finishing even at par for a No. 18 placement.

"It's a pretty similar team to what we had last year," Bercan said of a roster that returned six from last season's PacWest Conference Championship squad. "I think the guys put in a lot of work over summer and it's shown this week. A common thread with Coach Earl is to not make stupid mistakes. Definitely an improvement that just comes with a little more maturity with the team."

Cal State East Bay took the team victory after finishing tied with Colorado Mesa at six-under but claiming the drop score playoff. Colorado State Pueblo placed third at minus-three. CMU's Cole Beyer finished No. 1 overall at 12-under, having shot rounds of 67, 71 and 66.

2024 SMU Bishop Invitational Individual Leaderboard

* Competed as Individual

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Hawai'i Hilo will remain in Washington state to compete in the Western Washington Invitational at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club starting Monday, Sept. 30.

The Vulcans will then return home and have some time off before wrapping up the fall slate with three events on the west side of the Big Island: Hawai'i Triangular (Oct. 12-13), Dennis Rose Intercollegiate (Oct. 21-22) and HPU Sharks Shootout (Oct. 25-26).

2024 SMU Bishop Invitational