DAKOTA DUNES, S.D. – This event will be it in the collegiate career of the accomplished Nolan Zikas, winner of the most recent David Toms Overcoming Adversity Award. The La Vista, Neb., native put together a solid 18 holes on Tuesday (April 23) in what was round three of four at the 2019 GPAC Men’s Golf Championships. The final two rounds of the conference championships are being staged at Dakota Dunes Country Club in Dakota Dunes, S.D.
As a team, head coach Brett Muller’s Concordia men’s golf squad slipped back two spots to eighth place in the GPAC race after shooting a 326 in the latest round. The cumulative team total heading into the final round is 309-300-326–935.
After the first two GPAC championship rounds that occurred in the fall, Zikas sat in a tie for 20th place. He now shares 14th place (76-74-74–224) after shooting a 74 on Tuesday. Zikas is bidding for a fourth All-GPAC honor in a row. His career conference finishes have been ninth as a freshman, 24th as a sophomore and 16th as a junior. Another top 10 finish is not out of the question with Zikas currently two strokes out of 10th place.
The two other Bulldogs to qualify for the overall leaderboard (must compete in every GPAC championship round) are junior Tylar Samek (74-70-85–229; T-21st) and sophomore Jayden Neal (80-83-89–252; 38th). Samek had entered the spring in a tie for sixth place in the conference. The even-par 70 Samek shot in round two of the GPAC championships represents his lowest score of the 2018-19 season. Meanwhile, Neal moved up from 44th place after the fall.
Freshman Jack Williams carded an 81 on Tuesday for the team’s second best round of the day. Williams joined the team at the start of the second semester. Finally, sophomore Harrison Helmer competed in a conference round for the first time in his career and turned in an 86.
The final round of the GPAC championships will start at 9 a.m. CT on Wednesday. The first Bulldog tee shot is scheduled for 9:50 a.m.