Lords make cut, jump to 11th at NCAA Championship

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. — With the first tee time of the day, the No. 20-ranked Kenyon College Lords went out Wednesday morning and posted a team score of 301 in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Golf Championship. After that, it was a long waiting game that had all eyes locked on the leaderboard.

When the late scores began to trickle in, the Lords, who were tied for 20th place after Tuesday’s first round, hurdled the cut line, as top-ranked teams like No. 7 Christopher Newport University, No. 9 Sewanee and No. 10 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor dropped past Kenyon in the standings. The cut after the second round of play was predetermined at the top 18 teams in the 43-team field and the Lords concluded Wednesday tied for 11th place, extending their Championship run by two more days.

As the Lords gear up for the next two rounds of championship play, Wednesday’s results guaranteed the Kenyon men at least a tie for the best NCAA placement in program history. In three previous appearances at the NCAA Championships, Kenyon teams placed 18th (1977), 19th (1989) and 27th (1950).

After playing Mission Inn Resort and Club’s par-71 Los Colinas Course on Tuesday, the Lords switched over to the par-72 El Campeon Course on Wednesday. Their team score of 13-over was one of the top-five team scores of the day, regardless of course played.

Senior Nick Lust led the charge for Kenyon. With a round that included four bogeys and three birdies, he signed off on a one-over 73 scorecard for the day. His two-round total of five-over-par 148 has him in an individual tie for 20th place within a field that started with well over 200 participants.

First-year Armand Ouellette, one stroke off Lust’s total, put Tuesday’s round behind him and rebounded with a two-over 74 Wednesday. His round included three bogeys and a birdie. He now moves to a two-round total of 11-over-par 154.

Seniors Andrew Kotler and Eric Lifson also helped the Lords’ ascent with respective rounds of 76 and 78. Kotler worked around multiple bogeys to record a team-high four birdies, while Lifson recovered from a triple-bogey with three birdies. Kotler is at eight-over-par 151 for his first two rounds, while Lifson heads into round three with a 12-over-par score of 155.

Round three of the Championship begins Thursday morning at the El Campeon course. The first of the Lords’ tee times is slated for 9:39 a.m.