Van Der Wath finishes Top 5 to help No. 7 Men’s Golf to strong finish in Waco

WACO – Senior Joshua Van der Wath found his groove this week.

The Johannesburg, South Africa, native fired rounds of 70-73-70—213 (-3) to finish T-4 at McLennan Community College's Waco River Classic held Monday and Tuesday at Bear Ridge Golf Club. Van Der Wath carded six birdies in Tuesday's final round after posting five birdies in the first round.

The 2024 NAIA Third Team All-American shared fourth with Texas Christian University's Ethan Dial and McLennan's Harvey Denham. He finished one shot better than Baylor University's Sam Dossey.

Van der Wath's strong showing helped the No. 7-ranked Jaguars (294-299-292—885) to a sixth-place finish in a tournament which featured five teams which finished in the Top 10 at last year's NJCAA tournament, including the defending national champions New Mexico Junior College.

Sophomore and fellow All-American Nathan Biais turned in a Top 15 finish following rounds of 72-76-69—217 (+1) to finish T-12.

The Chassors, France, native matched Van der Wath with six birdies on Tuesday while shooting a team-low 69 (-3) to close the tournament.

Paul Chopin (74-74-78—226) finished T-45 in the field of 99 golfers. Lucky Boonsrirat (78-76-75—229) finished T-53 while Edgar Hinojosa (78-78-84—240, T-81) rounded out UHV's scores on Tuesday.

The Jaguars return home to host the UHV Fall Classic Oct. 21 and 22 at The Club at Colony Creek and Riverside Golf Course.