Final Results PRIMM, Nev. – Against a field that included the two most recent No. 1 teams in the NAIA, the Wayland Baptist Pioneers claimed the Battle at Primm tournament championship here Tuesday.
"It's very impressive," Wayland coach
Tom Harp said. "I'm really excited for the guys."
The third-ranked Pioneers won the prestigious tournament by 11 strokes, shooting rounds of 294 and 283 Monday before turning in a 287 Tuesday for a final even-par 864. No. 6 Keiser (Fla.), formerly ranked No. 1, finished second (
300-285-290—875) followed by No. 7 Oklahoma City in third (
301-286-293—880), 16 shots behind Wayland. Top-ranked Johnson & Wales (Fla.) came in fourth (
300-284-299—883).
"I'm proud of them," Harp said of his team following its fourth tournament crown this academic year. "They all hung tough and played hard. They had great attitudes and played well. It was fun to watch."
Harp called his team's 283 on the Primm Valley Golf Club's Desert Course "maybe the best team round I've seen our guys put up. The high round was 72, and the high round (Tuesday) was 74. That's not bad.
"Keiser and Johnson & Wales are two of the best in the country, so for us to get paired with them and play the way we did was truly impressive."
All but two of the 17 teams in the field are ranked or receiving Top 25 votes, including No. 5 British Columbia, No. 9 Arizona Christian, No. 9 (tie) Grand View (Iowa), No. 11 Victoria (B.C.), No. 14 Oregon Tech, No. 20 The Master's (Calif.), and No. 22 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.). Teams in the field earning Top 25 votes are William Jessup (Calif.), Thomas (Ga.), Bellevue (Neb.), and Embry-Riddle (Ariz.).
Individually, all five Pioneers finished in the top 18, led by sophomore
Andrew Williamson in second, three shots behind winner Louis Hirst of Keiser University (Fla.). Williamson, a sophomore from South Africa who won the San Antonio Shootout late last month, shot 69-71-70 to finish at 6-under 210, while Keiser carded
69-66-72—207 for 9-under.
Wayland's
Dean Martin shot three level-par 72s and finished fourth.
Ian Ansett (
78-71-71—220) tied for 11
th while
Steven Diack (
76-71-74—221) and
George Scanlon (
77-70-74—221) tied for 16
th.
Harp called the victory "truly a team effort and a team win. The guys are playing extremely well."
The Pioneers next play April 2 and 3 in the Golf Week Invitational at Mission Hills Resort in Florida. Harp said he and his golfers are looking forward to taking on Keiser and Johnson & Wales on their turf.
"We will be in their backyard," he said. "It will be a fun challenge."
The Golf Week Invitational is the team's final tournament prior to the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships April 18 and 19 at Fort Worth's Waterchase Golf Club.
