Final Results AMARILLO – It came down to the wire last year before the Wayland Baptist men's golf team pulled out the win at the Ryan Palmer Invitational. This year, the Pioneers pretty well had the victory in the bag with 18 holes to play.
Riding a commanding lead after Monday's opening round, the Pioneers sealed the deal Tuesday and came home with a 23-shot victory over St. Mary's University of San Antonio while also placing three players in the top five at the event held at wind-blown Tascosa Country Club.
"There were some good schools here, and for us to have a 16-shot lead in one round was shocking," Wayland coach
Tom Harp said after the seventh-ranked Pioneers turned in an opening 277, which they followed with rounds of 288 and 293 for an 858 total.
"Yesterday's morning round might have been one of the best rounds in school history, especially in that type of wind," Harp said. "I would have been happy with 10- or 11-under if it was calm and perfect, but to do it in 20-plus mph winds was extremely impressive."
Sophomores
Andrew Williamson and
George Scanlon and senior
Ian Ansett led Wayland by finishing second, third and fifth, respectively.
"It was nice for the team to win and see everyone play well and contribute," Williamson said. "It was a bigger field than last week (when Wayland won its fall season-opening tournament in Pueblo, Colo.) with more players and more competition, and the wind was very blustery again today. It was blowing quite strong."
After opening with an impressive 68, Williamson posted scores of 73 and 71 for a 212, leaving him one shot behind James Bolton of Newman, Kan., who after shooting 70 and 74 Monday submitted the low round of the tournament on Tuesday, a 67, to eke out the win.
"I was really, really happy with my game," Williamson said. "I didn't hole many mid-range putts, but I drove it well and stayed patient and ended up having a nice finish.
"I wouldn't say it's all come together, but it was really close."
Scanlon (70-74-69) finished one shot behind Williamson at 213 while Ansett (69-70-79), the leader going into the final round, finished at 218.
"To have three guys in the top five is great," Harp said. "Andrew and George just really played impressively. Ian did as well, although he struggled today. That's a lot of pressure trying to win your first tournament, so hopefully our guys will learn from it. They will be in that position to win again and hopefully we'll see all of them win this year. They certainly have ability to do it."
Junior
Steven Diack (70-76-78—222) tied for 16
th place while senior
Tristan Cottrell (77-71-77—225) tied for 26
th in the 13-team, 83-player field. Competing as an individual, freshman
William Walker (75-74-78—227) tied for 31
st.
Wayland won the tournament last year with scores of 282-281-284 for an 847, just two shots in front of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
The Pioneers next play Sept. 28 and 29 at the Mid-South Classic at Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton, Kan. Their fourth and final fall tourney is Oct. 26 and 27 in Oklahoma City.
