Eric Andrews | Echo
The No. 21 Taylor men's golf team earned their fourth victory of the 2016-17 campaign with a 23-stroke win at the Purgatory Intercollegiate last weekend in Noblesville, Indiana.
Sophomore Alec Dutkowski paced the Trojans, picking up the first individual tournament victory of his collegiate career. Dutkowski's score of 144 edged out junior Mitch Lamping's score of 145.
Dutkowski recorded an impressive opening round on Friday, shooting a 70 in gusty conditions. Lamping led the charge on Saturday as the only golfer to shoot under par with a 71.
Lamping attributed the team's success to maintaining composure in the poor conditions and keeping the team's shots low to avoid the wind.
"We knew we were the best team there," Lamping said. "We just had to go out and play our game and perform."
Senior Ian Rinken and junior Trey Turner rounded out the Trojans' scorecard on Saturday by tallying scores of 73 and 74, respectively. The foursome totaled a score of 292 on Saturday to finish the tournament with a total score of 589.
The team has enjoyed strong performances throughout the season from their top golfers, but the Purgatory Intercollegiate proved to be Dutkowski's time to shine. His performance earned him the honor of being the Crossroads League Golfer of the Week.
"(Dutkowski has) been one of our best players-if not our best player-since he got here last year," head coach Cam Andry said. "We had a bunch of other guys win tournaments in the last year and a half, and (Dutkowski) wasn't one of them. He was starting to feel that a little bit. For him to come through and get a victory-his first one-I think it could open the floodgates for him."
The Trojans will return to the course today in Illinois at the TPC Deere Run Invitational, one of four tournaments before the Crossroads League Championship next month.
"Photograph provided by Cam Andry"
