Trojans Continue Steady Play at National Championship
SILVIS, Ill. – With another solid round on Thursday the Taylor men's golf team maintained its position on the leaderboard heading into Friday's final round of action at the NAIA National Championship.
Sophomore Drew Pickering capped his third round with a birdie on the difficult par-4 18th hole to post a team-best score of 1-over par 72 to lead the Trojans on Thursday. The Indianapolis native made two bogeys early in his round but played the final 14 holes at 1-under par. Pickering is tied for eighth place on the individual leaderboard at 3-over par with three consecutive rounds of 72.
Joining Pickering with a 3-over par total is redshirt junior Javan Johnson who tallied a 74 during the third round. Johnson got off to a quick start with birdies on each of his first two holes but struggled on the difficult closing stretch of the 6,732-yard TPC Deere Run track, playing the final four holes at 4-over par.
Freshman Adam Kastiz played his best golf of the National Championship on Thursday as the Wichita, Kan., native signed for a 5-over par 76. Sophomore Noah Ross grinded out a 6-over par 77 as the Trojans tallied a team score of 299. Sophomore Erik Fahlen struggled to an 84 as the TU drop score on Thursday.
The Trojans maintained their position of sixth place in the team standings with a three-round total of 893 (+41). Dalton State roared to the top of the leaderboard at 874 (+22) followed by Point at 878 (+26), Keiser at 880 (+28), Texas Wesleyan at 886 (+34), and Bellevue at 891 (+39).
The Trojans will return for the final round of the National Championship on Friday. Kasitz will once again lead the Trojans onto the course at 8:24 am (CST). Live scoring can be viewed on golfstat.com.