Final Results AMARILLO – Despite not having a single golfer finish higher than eighth individually, Wayland Baptist still captured the team championship at the Ryan Palmer Foundation Invitational held Monday and Tuesday at Tascosa Golf Club here.
"We didn't have anybody who finished in the top five, but everyone stepped up at different times and played some critical golf for us," WBU coach
Tom Harp said about the well-roundedness of his team. "I wouldn't say any one person deserves the credit. Different guys really came through in different rounds. I'm happy for all of them."
After turning in scores of 282 and 281 on Monday to hold a three-shot lead, the Pioneers finished up Tuesday with a 284 to win by two strokes over the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, which turned in three identical 283s.
Harp said he wasn't sure if the Pioneers would be able to hang on or not.
"When we made the turn we started giving shots away and they (UC-Colorado Springs) started making birdies, and (our lead) disappeared in a hurry. I thought maybe we were down a couple of shots," he said. "But like usual the guys finished strong and brought some back. Even though we struggled a bit coming down the stretch, they were clutch enough to pull it off and make some birdies when they had to."
Wayland's 847 total amounted to 17-under-par.
St. Mary's University (
281-286-290—857) was a distant third, while Lubbock Christian, Oklahoma Christian and Cameron, Okla., all tied for fourth at 862. Host West Texas A&M came in seventh among the 17 mostly NCAA Division II teams.
The highest-finishing Pioneer was
Ryan Connolly, who placed eighth in the 86-player field. Connolly shot 72-69-71 for a 4-under 212.
"Ryan played solid as usual," Harp said. "His game hasn't been top form according to his standards, but for him to score as well as he has for not firing on all cylinders is good. He's working really hard."
The winning score of 9-under 207 was turned in by St. Edward's University's Jose A. Hernandez (67-72-68), who birdied the first playoff hole to defeat Oscar Spolander (68-68-71) of WT.
The all-tournament team was composed of the top five finishers, excluding any Wayland golfers.
Right behind Connolly in a tie for ninth was
Ian Ansett, who struggled on Tuesday after firing a 69 and 68 on Monday to stand in second place, a single stroke behind leader Spolander. Ansett turned in a third-round 76 for a 3-under 213 total.
Harp said Ansett is ready to win his first college tournament, as is
Steven Diack (74-75-69), who tied for 32
nd at 218.
"Steven played a great round to shoot 69 for us today," Harp said. "Those two are getting closer to firing on all cylinders. You could see it Monday with Ian. He and Steven would like to win a tournament themselves."
Newcomers
George Scanlon (67-78-71) and
Andrew Williamson (74-69-73) proved pivotal to Wayland's win as they finished tied for 21
st place at even-par 216.
"George birdied the last two holes and three of the last four to shoot 1-under. That was a really strong finish for him," said Harp, adding that Williamson played his last two holes in 1-under.
Playing individually,
Tristan Cottrell (
80-73-69—222) tied for 48
th. Harp said Tuesday's 3-under marked Cottrell's first official collegiate round under-par.
"We were all excited for him. He's worked really hard and it's starting to pay off. Even though it didn't count in the team score, it shows the depth of the team. It says a lot if you have a team that can all put it in the 60s."
It was Wayland's second win in as many fall tournaments. Last week in Pueblo, Colo., the Pioneers easily prevailed by 19 strokes at the Wolf Pack Invitational.
"This was a good win against definitely a stronger field than last week," Harp said. "This was a fun few days to see what the girls have accomplished (school-record scores posted in Oklahoma City) and see the guys win another one that was a little tighter. They didn't feel much pressure at all last week, but this was different. They got the feel of a little bit of pressure, which showed us we need to learn some things and get a little bit better in some areas."
The victory followed last year's second-place showing at this tournament when Wayland shot 277 – a school record in relation to par – 282 and 283 for an 842. Colorado School of Mines won it at 831.
WBU takes next week off before heading to Newton, Kan., for the Mid-South Classic Sept. 29 and 30. Then, the Pioneers play the last of their four fall events in late October at the JWU Dave Adamonis Invitational at the Trump National Golf Club in Miami, Fla.
