SILVIS, IL:
Rowan Lester, a freshman from Dublin, Ireland, became the 11th member of the Texas Wesleyan University Men's Golf Program to win the NAIA Individual National Championship on Friday. Lester turned in a card of 74 on a rain-soaked course at TPC Deere Run on Friday to finish at +3 for the tournament. His performance led the Rams back into contention for the title on their way to a third place finish.
Lester's win marked the second consecutive year that the NAIA Individual Title was won by a freshman from Texas Wesleyan.
David Ravetto accomplished the feat last season as well.
Lester led wire-to-wire on his way to the NAIA Arnold Palmer National Individual Champion award. He took command of the tournament during a windy opening round in which he fired a round of -2 (69) on the par 71 (6,651 yard) championship course. The lead dwindled to a single shot following round three, but a final round 74 under difficult conditions sealed a three-stroke victory.
"It was similar to yesterday," Lester said following the final round. "I didn't play that well, but I chipped and putted amazingly. From number nine to fourteen, I think I had four one-putts and many of those were to par. That kept me in it. I stuck to what I could hit well, and my putting was just amazing all week."
The Rams struggled out of the gate, posting cards of 306 in each of the first two rounds, and were tied for 13th following round one. Lester along with Ravetto keyed a huge comeback. Ravetto pitched in five birdies while notching the low round of the tournament at 67 in round three as the Rams fired a card of 290 to move into a tie with No. 18 Grand View (IA) for second and get within 13 strokes of No. 20 Cardinal Stritch (WI) for the lead.
The final round proved to be a three team race. The Rams made up 10 strokes on Cardinal Stritch, but Grand View fired a 295 to win the title by five shots.
Following the tournament, Lester and
David Ravetto, who tied for eighth individually, were both named to the All-Tournament Team (top-15 individuals) as well as Ping NAIA First-Team All-American.
Steven Anderson finished tied for 46th,
Nick Krsnak placed 65th, and
Leo Mathard tied for 78th rounding out Texas Wesleyan's scores.
Fellow Sooner Athletic Conference teams No. 1 Oklahoma City and No. 5 Wayland Baptist finished 6th and 7th respectively.
Texas Wesleyan led all teams with 44 birdies. Individually, Lester led the field with 14 birdies while Ravetto was 5th with 12.
Lester's title extended Texas Wesleyan's record to 11 individual national championships. The top-5 finish was Texas Wesleyan's 37th top-5 finish at the NAIA National Championship all-time.
Ramblings
- Texas Wesleyan University Athletics has won seven National Championships in three sports this season (Men's Basketball, Table Tennis, and Men's Golf) pushing the department's all-time total to 84 national championships (28 team and 56 individual).
- The Rams have recorded 20 consecutive top-5 finishes, dating back to a 6th place finish at the 2015 NAIA National Championship.
- Texas Wesleyan was making its 56th overall and 14th consecutive national championship appearance at the 66th annual event. The Rams have now posted 53 top-10 finishes at the event while never missing the cut. Their six NAIA National Championships are the second most of any one institution. Their 10 runner-up finishes and 11 individual titles are both records.
- The Rams finished no worse than third in any tournament this season. They racked up three wins and four runner-up finishes in ten outings.
Texas Wesleyan University Scores
Fin. Player Scores
1 Rowan Lester 69 72 72 74 287
T8 David Ravetto 77 78 67 76 298
T46 Steven Anderson 85 77 75 75 312
65 Nick Krsnak 78 82 80 78 318
T78 Leo Mathard 82 79 76 86 323
3 Texas Wesleyan 306 306 290 303 1205
