Lion Men’s Golf Wins First Tournament in D1 Era at LaTour Intercollegiate

By Lion Athletics

For the first time in the Division I era, the East Texas A&M University men’s golf team has won a tournament as the Lions bring home the LaTour Intercollegiate trophy by nine strokes on Tuesday at the LaTour Golf Club.

Entering the day with a 12-stroke lead, the Lions carded a team score of 279 in the final round on Tuesday with South Dakota making a push in the final round, shooting a tournament-best 269, to finish second. The Lions finished with a total score of 827.

It is the first team title for the Lions in the Division I era. East Texas A&M’s last team win was in 2022 at the DBU Patriot Classic, which was the program’s last regular season tournament as members of Division II.

The Lions’ Janis Erll (Lich, Germany) was also the 36-hole leader, but fell behind entering his final hole, which he birdied to force a playoff with Midland College’s Scott Spark. Both golfers tied on the first playoff hole and then Spark got the edge on the second playoff hole to win the individual medal.

Erll totaled a score of 203 (69-62-72), tying the course record in the second round on Monday. Davis Seybert (Trinity Midland) surged up to a tie for third place finish, shooting a 67 in the final round and totaled a score of 205 (69-69-67).

Cooper Watt (Rockford, Ill.) tied for ninth place with a score of 209 (71-70-68), while Nicke Kaajavirta (Kajaani, Finland) took 16^th with a score of 213 (71-70-72), and Matt Walters (Ballito, South Africa) tied for 25^th place with a score of 217 (68-76-73).

This week’s LaTour Intercollegiate was the final tournament of the fall for the Lions, who are in their first season of being full Division I members and eligible for NCAA-sponsored postseason events.

The full spring schedule will be released in the coming months.

Team Scores

Individual scores (ETAMU)