SILVIS, Ill. – It was a better day for the Lewis-Clark State College men’s golf team on Thursday, but it wasn’t quite good enough to help the Warriors stick around for the fourth and final round of the 57th annual NAIA Men’s Golf Championships.
The Warrior shaved eight strokes off their score from Wednesday and fired a 318, but that left them in a tie for 27th place at the tournament, which is being played on the TPC at Deere Run, a course that is used on the PGA Tour.
Only the top 17 teams after the third round advanced to Friday’s final round, which meant the Warriors’ season came to an end on Thursday.
“We did better but this team is not used to shooting team scores in the 300s,” LCSC coach Paul Thompson said. “This is a really tough golf course and it took its toll on us.”
Thompson said the difficulty of the course is hard to describe because every shot can be a tough shot. He said the Clarkston Country Club has a rating of 71.2 and the greens are sloped at 127. He said while the Clarkston is a tough course for the average golfer, the TPC course has a rating of 75.2 and the greens have a slope rating of 145.
“I’ve never played on a golf course this tough,” Thompson said. “But I know the players are embarrassed by their high numbers.”
Scott Mooney led the Warriors with a 78 on Thursday, while Lewiston sophomore Ben House had a 79. Connor McCracken and Chris Kneen shot 80 and 81, respectively, while Patrick Casabonne had an 86.
Kneen led LCSC overall with a 22-over-par 235, which left him tied for 81st overall. Mooney was next at 242, followed by House at 244, McCracken at 245, and Casabonne at 250.
The Warriors had a solid season, winning the Frontier Conference title by 57 strokes
