Jay Williams Wins 2022 Crossroads League Championship
LACONIA, Ind. - The Marian men's golf team finished second at the 2022 Crossroads League Championship, and for the first time in 10 years, the Knights took home the medalist honor as Jay Williams won the individual championship.
Jay Williams began his 2022 Crossroads League run with a strong first round, as the senior dominated the front nine shooting even par, with a birdie on seven canceling out his bogey on one. Williams was sharp off the turn, shooting a birdie on hole 10 and making an eagle on hole 11 to get to three under. Williams shot par for the final seven holes, and ended round one with a -3, 69 score.
In the second round, Williams hit three bogies on the front nine, but made up for his round with a birdie on two and six to come out of the front nine with a 37. On the back nine of the second round, Williams played even par through three holes, making a leap at 13 with a birdie. The senior birdied the 15th hole to get to -1, where he stayed shooting a 71 in the second set of 18 holes. After the first day finished, Williams sat in sole possession of first place with a 140 total.
Williams started his final round on Tuesday like he did in the first two with a bogey on hole one, but got back to even with a birdie on three. A pair of birdies over the next six holes got Williams to -1 at the turn, sitting with a 35. Taylor's Noah Ross challenged Williams by the turn shooting a -3 on the front nine, as the two shared a stretch of holes tied for first. Williams used a birdie on 11 to get to -2 for the day, as it allowed him to take back sole possession of the lead. The senior hit two bogies on consecutive holes that allowed Ross to stick around, but a birdie on 17 gave Williams the lead again.
Entering the final hole with a two-stroke lead, Williams hit the green with a three-putt opportunity for the win, draining a birdie attempt to win the Crossroads League Championship with a round three score of 70.
Williams' score totaled at 210 for the three rounds, allowing him to tie his own school record with the -6 effort. Williams win allowed him to become the first medalist for Marian since 2012, when Trey Pfund capped his back-to-back championship seasons.
Marian will now await the NAIA call for the national championship, with the field being announced on Thursday, May 5, following the announcement of the final rankings.
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