ROCK ISLAND, Ill. ­— Knox College first-year Thomas Lyaudet caught fire on his final eight holes to lay claim to the top of the leaderboard at the Viking Classic, hosted by Augustana College, on Saturday afternoon, carding a season-low 4-under 68. His performance allowed the Prairie Fire to finish the day in third place among the nine teams at 11-over par with the host Vikings holding a 10-stroke lead at even par.

Beginning his round on the 10th hole at the 6,799-yard, par-72 Highland Springs Municipal Golf Course, Lyaudet reached the turn at even par with one bogey and one birdie, then bogeyed the 408-yard, par-4 first hole. But he immediately turned it around with an eagle on the second hole, then added three birdies and four pars to finish strong and jump into the lead, two strokes ahead of Augustana's Patrick McGrath.

Junior Pranav Nandakumar was his usual steady self with 13 pars and a pair of birdies, ending the round with a 1-over 73 to leave him in a tie for eighth. The other golfers contributing to the team score were sophomore Nathaniel Zug (77) and first-year Diego Carrillo (81), both of whom had a pair of birdies in their respective rounds.

• Lyaudet matched classmate Diego Carrillo for lowest round of the season at 4-under, though Carrillo shot a 67 on a par-71 course last September.
• This was the first time Lyaudet broke 70 as a member of the Prairie Fire golf team.

The second and final round will tee off on Sunday at 1 p.m.