Men's Golf | 10/13/2026 11:55:00 PM

WARREN, Ohio (pacathletics.org) - Following two rounds under 300, Saint Vincent College sits in first place after the 2026 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Fall Men's Golf Championships, giving the Bearcats a three-stroke lead to carry into the 2027 spring championships.

The 36-hole fall event was hosted by the Avalon Golf & Country Club in Warren, Ohio. The men played two rounds at Avalon Lakes in Warren.

This year's PAC Championships features a 72-hole stroke play event, beginning with 36 holes played this fall and another 36 holes played Friday-Saturday, April 23-24, 2027 at Mill Creek Metroparks and the Mill Creek Golf Course in Boardman, Ohio. The women will play two rounds on the North Course, while the men will play a pair of rounds on the South Course.

Day 1 Highlights
- Saint Vincent and Washington & Jefferson College were tied for the team lead at 298, with three-time defending champion Allegheny College just two shots back at 300.
- The Bearcats' top four players scored 74 or 75, with senior Evan Bower and senior Owen Dzurko pacing the way with matching 74s to put them in a tie for fourth place after day one.
- The Presidents' efforts were led by senior Ryan Steigerwald, who was alone in third place at 73, while his junior teammate Sean Clark was part of a five-man group tied at 74.
- Defending champion Allegheny was right on SVC's and W&J's heels thanks to sophomore Christopher Hoffman, who topped the first round leaderboard after carding a three-under, 69.
- Sitting in second place on the individual leaderboard was Bethany senior Jude Smith, who was at even-par, 72.

Day 2 Highlights
- Another strong day for Saint Vincent ended with a 299 for a two-day total of 597, while Allegheny stayed right with the Bearcats by scoring 300 for the second day in a row and the Gators sit three shots back at 600.
- Fueling the Bearcats surge to the top was the duo of Bower and Dzurko again. Bower had the low round on Tuesday, shooting two-under, 70 and his even-par, 144 after the opening 36 holes gives him a two-shot lead heading into the spring.
- Just behind Bower is Dzurko, whose 72 on Tuesday gives him a 146 to fill in second on the leaderboard.
- Last year's PAC individual champion, Grove City College junior Luke Gronbeck, had the second-lowest round of the day at one-under, 71, which moved the Wolverines up the team rankings and put him in a tie for third place at 147.
- Gronbeck is tied with Allegheny's Hoffman (69-78) at 147, while Bethany's Smith (72-77) and Westminster College senior Tyler Hager (76-73) are in a tie for fifth place at 149.

Team Standings
- The 597 by Saint Vincent is only the second time in the last five years a team has posted two sub-300 rounds to start the PAC Championships. It's also the first time SVC has led after the fall since 2015 when the Bearcats fired 616 (313/303).
- Allegheny is in second place at 600, with Grove City and W&J tied for third in the PAC race at 611. In fifth is Westminster at 623, followed by Thiel College in sixth at 629, Bethany in seventh at 640, Geneva College in ninth (644), Hiram College in 10th (663) and Waynesburg University (680).
- Saint Francis University played in their first PAC Championship event, as the Red Wolves begin conference competition while reclassifying from Division I to Division III. Saint Francis, whose results will not count in the conference during SFU's reclassifying process, shot 609 (308-301) over the opening two rounds.

Notables
- Bower is the first Saint Vincent player to earn fall medalist since 2017 when the Bearcats' Nate Yackovich was part of a six-way tie for first after the fall at 150.
- The All-PAC teams, along with the PAC Players of the Year and PAC Newcomers of the Year, are determined by the combined 72-hole scores from the fall and spring championships. The All-PAC teams are made up of the top 15 overall scorers (5 first team, 5 second team, 5 honorable mention). Saint Francis' players can be recognized with PAC Coaches Honors in lieu of All-PAC recognition if they finish in the top 15 at conference championships. 
- The combined 72-hole team totals determine PAC team champions and winners of the league's automatic-qualifying bid to the Division III Championships.
- The 2027 Division III Men's Championships are scheduled for May 18-21 at Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.