The Master's University men's golf team completed its opening rounds of the GSAC Championship Tournament at Antelope Hills Golf Course North in Prescott, Ariz. Monday afternoon.
The men's found themselves atop the leaderboard, finishing the first 18 holes with a 2-stroke lead over their nearest competitor with a team total of even-par. They enter the tournament as the No. 12-ranked team in the nation, meaning they need a win to punch their ticket into the NAIA National Championship.
Senior Jonathan Larson led the men's team with a first-round total of 3-under 69, putting him in a tie for first. Simon Blackburn, Rye Winans and Jacob Janho are all bunched together at T12, each finishing with a score of one-over 73. Seth Bishop rounded out the playing squad with a total of nine-over par.
The men jumped out to an early lead with a team total of 7-under through nine holes. Janho made the turn at 5-under while Larson and Blackburn were 2-under par. But the wind, changing course conditions and fatigue led to the Mustangs and the rest of the field struggling through the back nine.
"Once the second nine started, the overall conditions definitely got a little bit more difficult." Blackburn said about the back nine. "The wind picked up and trying to calculate with the elevation… it's really one big math problem that you had to figure out."
But the Mustangs held firm and played with enough intensity to push ahead of the field, something Winans was looking to do in his first GSAC Championship round.
"We've got 18 holes everyday," Winans said of the 3-day 54-hole tournament. "It's not one of those 36-hole to 18-hole tournaments where you can say 'Oh, I can turn it around on the second [18-holes].' Just get out there and leave it all out there for the day."
But they will still have to contend with competition like Ottawa University (AZ), who is only three strokes behind as a team in fourth place and entered the tournament as the No. 5 team in the NAIA, likely earning an at-large bid into the NAIA National Championship.