Men’s Golf Opens 2025-2026 with Team Title at LTU Kickoff

BOYNE FALLS, Mich. – The Taylor men's golf team opened its 2025-2026 season in style, topping a 10-team field at the Lawrence Tech Collegiate Kickoff for the team title. The Trojans fired rounds of 298 and 297 to come in nearly eight strokes under last season's team scoring average.

Taylor finished Monday's opening round just one stroke off the lead, joining No. 25 Northwestern Ohio as the lone teams to come in under 300 during the first 18 holes of action. TU made its move on Tuesday, carding a 297 as the only team to finish the second 18 under 300.

Wednesday's final round was not completed due to rain, leaving Taylor as the tournament champion with a 36-hole total of 595. TU finished four shots up on No. 25 UNOH for the top spot, and well ahead of RV Lawrence Tech, who finished at 612 and in fifth place as the only other team at the tournament to have garnered points in the NAIA Top-25 Preseason Poll.

TU showcased its tremendous depth in the season-opener, placing six finishers inside the top-25 at the 60-athlete event. Kyle Kasitz led the way, tying for the top spot on the individual leaderboard with a 36-hole total of 147.

Will Schuitema ended in third and just one stroke off that pace at 148, while Ben Oakley fired an opening-round score of 71 to fuel a fourth-place finish at 149.

Tanner Conklin and Porter Dick tied for eighth to give the Trojans five top-10 finishes. Conklin and Dick each finished at 150, with Dick shooting an even par-72 on Tuesday to surge up the leaderboards.

Davis Formsma was next in for TU, finishing his first collegiate tournament in 24th with a two-day score of 156.

Taylor is scheduled to resume its fall season at the Battle at Blackthorn on September 22 and 23.