Ottumwa -- Indian Hills sophomore Jesse MacNaughtan has signed a letter of intent to continue his golf career and education at Long Island University in New York.  LIU is a NCAA Division I school that is a member of the Northeast Conference.

MacNaughtan's arrival at Indian Hills in 2018 coincided with that of his head coach, John Mulholland, who points out that MacNaughtan has been a key player for the Warriors.  His scoring average was 72.87 as a freshman, highlighted by a tie for 10th place at the NJCAA National Championship with a four-under par score which earned the Sydney, Australia native second-team All-American honors.

This fall, MacNaughtan averaged 73.67 over 15 rounds and got his first collegiate win, taking the Flyer Intercollegiate at the Cog Hill Dubsbread Course in Illinois.  "Jesse's accomplishments on and off the course are stacking up nicely as he has worked hard on his game and that has translated into his classes," Mulholland said.

"Having a competitor like Jesse on your team is exactly what you want as a coach," explained Mulholland.  "His ability to scratch out a brilliant score has been great to watch.  I have witnessed some incredible shotmaking with Jesse holing out from distance or chipping in around the greens at least nine times in his career at Indian Hills, which is rare.  His short game is very impressive and will for sure help him a lot as he moves to the next level."

His IHCC coach concluded, "Jesse has consistently proved to himself and our team that he will go on to do great things.  I look forward to seeing him compete next year and wish him the best for the rest of his collegiate career."

MacNaughtan is the second sophomore on this year's IHCC team to sign with a four-year school this fall.  Harry Doig signed with Cal State Fullerton last month.