KINGSTON, N.Y. — Columbia first-year Grant Lester put together another impressive performance to earn a third-place finish at the Roar-EE Invitational. Columbia hosted the single-day, 36-hole event on Saturday at Wiltwyck Golf Club.
 
Lester combined for a 2-under-par 142 across his two rounds. He carded an opening-round even-par 72 with four bogeys and four birdies, including back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18 to complete his first round. After a bogey at the par-4 fourth during Round 2, he birdied the 210-yard, par-3 fifth and 181-yard, par-3 eighth to head to his final nine at 1-under. Two more birdies at 11 and 18 brought him as low as 3-under before a closing bogey at the 18th finished off a 2-under 70.
 
This is Lester's fourth top-five finish and seventh top-10 finish across 10 tournaments in his rookie campaign. Saturday's performance lowered his team-leading stroke average to 72.04.
 
Columbia (+15) finished sixth in the 10-team field. They got better as the day went on, bouncing back from a 14-over-par 302 with a second-round 1-over-par 289. Along with Lester's 70, junior Darren Pang carded a second-round 71, senior Wyatt McGovern shot a 73 and junior George Rubelsky completed the top four scorers with a 75.
 
St. Thomas Aquinas won the event at 2-over-par 578. They beat out second-place Lafayette College by two shots. Nathan Skaggs shared medalist honors with Dartmouth's Tyler Brand, both of whom carded rounds of 66 and 72.
 
The Lions now prepare for the 2025 Ivy League Championship, which takes place next Friday-Sunday, April 25-27, at Rolling Green Golf Club in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
 
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