Poppell, Crane Lead Troy at The Golden Nugget

Monday, March 2

Lake Charles, La.

All Day

Troy University

Golden Nugget Invitational

Poppell, Crane Lead Troy at The Golden Nugget

3/2/2026 6:29:00 PM | Golf (M)

Live Scoring

By: Troy Athletics Communications

LAKE CHARLES, La. – Lee Poppell and Thomas Crane each fired rounds under par to lead the Troy men's golf team on Monday's opening day of the Golden Nugget Invitational at The Country Club at the Golden Nugget.

Crane, who is playing as an individual in the event, carded Troy's best round of the day, shooting a 3-under 69 in the afternoon session, which included five birdies. It's the second-best round of the season for the true freshman, who carded a 5-under 67 during the fall at the FAU Invitational.

Poppell was in the red in the morning, his eighth of the season (tied with Pablo Gracia for the team lead), as he picked up five birdies en route to a 2-under 70.

The pair is tied for 30^th place overall at 1-under following 36 holes, five shots clear of Grant Yerger, who is tied for 53^rd place following rounds of 72 and 76.

Troy sits in 10^th place in the field, while Lamar holds a 1-shot advantage over Tarleton State at the top of the leaderboard. UTSA, Abilene Christian and ULM round out the top five.

Yerger had three birdies on the day and is tied with Gracia at 4-over through 36 holes, who had three birdies in each round. Haston Emblom, also playing as an individual, is tied for 63^rd place at 8-over par, while Pierce Becker is in 65^th place and Landon Noble is in 69^th position.

The Trojans will look to make up ground in Tuesday's final round, which gets underway with a shotgun start at 8:45 a.m.

Team Standings
1. Lamar 274-271--545, 2. Tarleton State 275-271--546, 3. UTSA 270-277--547, 4. Abilene Christian 277-284--561, 5. ULM 290-271--561, 6. Wichita State 281-282--563, 7. Northern Colorado 284-280--564, 8. USC Upstate 287-289--576, 9. Oakland 291-286--577, 10. Troy 291-301--592

Troy Individuals
T30. Lee Poppell 70-73—143, T30. Thomas Crane 74-69—143, T53. Grant Yerger 72-76—148, T53. Pablo Gracia 73-75—148, T63. Haston Emblom 75-77—152, 65. Pierce Becker 76-77—153, 69. Landon Noble 86-77—163