Lincoln men win PGA Minority Championship

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The Lincoln men's golf team won its fifth PGA Minority Collegiate Golf Championship title, taking home the Division II crown by 24 strokes.

Lincoln posted a three-day total of 898 at the PGA Golf Club to beat Texas A&M International, which was second with a 922. Virginia State was next in the eight-team field at 932.

The Blue Tigers add the crown to the titles they picked up in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2005. They are now tied with St. Augustine's for the second-most titles won in the Division II portion of the event, trailing only the seven won by Fayetteville State.

The Blue Tigers were led by Steven Mallow, who tied for third after carding a 4-over-par 220 (71-75-74). Zach Smith of Virginia State was the medalist, shooting an even-par 216.

Also for Lincoln, Nick Goeke was sixth (76-72-75-223), Austin Wheeler was seventh (72-78-76-226), Kenny Conrad tied for 12th (81-76-77-234) and Eric Kosmatka tied for 16th (76-80-81-237).

In the women's division, Lincoln finished in sixth out of eight teams after posting a score of 1,013.

Bethune-Cookman and Texas Pan American tied for the crown with 909s, with Bethune-Cookman then winning the title after a one-hole playoff. The teams took the lowest four scores out of the five players who played the 18th hole, and the Wildcats' 1-under score beat the 1-over score posted by Texas Pan American.

Bethune-Cookman's Andrea Orozco was the medalist, as she shot a 4-over par 220. The best finish for the Blue Tigers was Kaitlyn Schwartze, who tied for 12th after posting a 237 (82-78-77).

Also for Lincoln, Payton Schooler was 26th (86-77-90-253), Sophie Pardalos was 27th (85-82-88-255) and Kara Harwood was 31st (91-90-87-268).