Trojans Triumph for Fourth-Straight League Title
Results | Live Scoring | Photos | Championship Central
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Taylor men's golf program claimed its fourth straight Crossroads League Championship title on Tuesday as the Trojans pulled away from the field for a nine shot victory in the rain-shortened event.
Freshman Lucas Beck became the third different Trojan to win the Crossroads League Championship individual title in the last four years. The Zionsville, Indiana native fired a final round even-par 72 to post a two-round total of 145 (+1) en route to his first career victory.
Taylor entered Tuesday's final round with a slim six shot lead over Marian and the lead remained the same throughout much of the final round until Beck and TU senior Jeremy Ray each tallied back-to-back birdies on the difficult par-4 14th hole and the par-5 15th hole at Blackthorn Golf Club to extend the TU advantage.
The Trojans carded a final round score of 295 while Marian tallied a 298 and Indiana Wesleyan, who entered the final round trailing the Trojans by eight strokes, added a 299. Taylor finished with a two-round total of 595 (300-295), Marian was second at 604 (306-298) followed by Indiana Wesleyan at 607 (308-299).
Senior Jeremy Ray earned a second place finish on the individual leaderboard, finishing two strokes behind Beck with a two-round total of 147 (+3) after shooting rounds of 75 and 72.
Fellow senior and two-time defending Crossroads League Tournament champion, Alec Dutkowki added a final round score of 76 to finish in eighth place at 152 (76-76).
Junior Nate Morris played steady golf for the Trojans in the final round, carding a 75 while junior Scottie Marston was the TU drop score in round two with an 82. Marston and Morris finished tied for 16th place at 158.
The Trojans led the field in par-3 scoring, finishing at 1-over par for the tournament. Beck was the best par-3 player in the field, playing the short holes at 1-under par for the week. Ray led the field in par-4 scoring at 3-over par while Dutkowski finished second in par-5 scoring at 4-under par.
With the victory, Taylor earns the Crossroads League's automatic bid to the 2019 NAIA National Championship. The NAIA National Championship will be played at Las Sendas Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona May 21-24.