Lincoln golfers lead championship

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The Lincoln men's golf team took its step No. 1 toward its fifth title at the PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship, taking the lead after the first of three rounds in the 27th annual event.

The Blue Tigers shot a score of 295 on Friday to lead the Division II field at the Ryder Course of the PGA Golf Club.

Lincoln's Steven Mallow is the individual leader after carding a 71, one shot better than teammate Austin Wheeler, who is one of two players that posted a 72.

Also for Lincoln, Nick Goeke and Eric Kosmatka each shot a 76 and Kenny Conrad rounded out Lincoln's scorecard with an 81.

The Blue Tigers hold a 14-stroke lead over second-place Texas A&M International (309). The rest of the eight-team field includes Virginia State (311), Virginia Union (326), Morehouse (328), St. Augustine's (334), Paine (335) and Fayetteville State (337).

Lincoln is looking to add to its hardware at the event, as the Blue Tigers captured titles in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2005.

In the Division II women's portion of the event, Lincoln stands in eighth place out of eight teams after a first-day score of 344.

Kaitlyn Schwartze led Lincoln with an 82, while Sophia Pardalos carded an 85. Payton Schooler added an 86 and Kara Harwood had a 91.

Bethune Cookman leads the tournament with a 299, followed by Texas-Pan American (309), Chicago State (318), Delaware State (321), Texas Southern (325), Hampton (338) and Texas A&M International (339).

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