ANDREWS – Wayland Baptist picked up the win and Jake Craft settled for second place as the Andrews Invitational came to a close here Sunday afternoon.
After coming within a stroke of matching their team record with a 267 Saturday at Andrews Country Club, Wayland turned in a 10-under 278 Sunday – with all five players shooting under-par – for a 31-under 545 total. That bested runner-up Odessa College (274-279—553) by eight strokes. McLennan College, which shot 275 Saturday, placed third.
"It's always good to put up some low numbers," WBU coach Tom Harp said. "The pins were in a little tougher spots Sunday and they moved some tees back so the course played longer. That's why the scores were a little higher today."
Harp said winds were "a tick breezier" than Saturday, but overall the weather was terrific.
"It was one of those perfect weekends for golf…not much wind and perfect temperatures."
Individually on Sunday, Craft followed his near-program record 8-under 64 Saturday with a 70 for a 10-under 134 total, good for second place behind Holden Hamilton of McLennan Community College. Hamilton shot rounds of 66 and 67 for an 11-under 133, one in front of Craft.
"Jake was upset he didn't pull out the win, but he's getting closer every time," Harp said.
Craft also went low here last year, firing a then career-best 66 in the first round before carding a second-round 73.
"Jake qualified really well, and to see him play like this is great," Harp said. "That bodes well for us going forward."
Sentanio Minnie, who matched Craft's 64 Saturday despite dealing with a nagging injury, followed that up with a 71 for a 135, leaving him tied for fifth with fellow senior Sebastien Tremulot (67-69—136).
Also for the Pioneers, who last year shot 279-280 at the Andrews Invitational, Joshua Smedema (73-69—142) and Zane Welborn (76-70—146) combined to improve their scores by 10 strokes on Sunday. Playing as a medalist, Carson Grawunder shot rounds of 72 and 78 for a 150.
Harp said it's encouraging to see five guys shoot under par. "You don't see that often," he said.
The coach added that Smedema made a good comeback from the first round to the second, and Welborn showed great resilience Sunday.
"Zane hit his first tee shot in the water and made double-bogey, but he made birdie on the next five holes in a row," the coach said. "We talked about coming back after adversity, so for him to come back like that and shoot 2-under was great."
Wayland opened its fall season by finishing tied for second at the Mid-South Classic in Kansas earlier this week. The Pioneers turned in scores of 308 and 305 before Wednesday's final round was cancelled due to weather.
This weekend's win follows a three-victory season last year that saw the Pioneers finish first in three of their seven events in a schedule that was cut short due to COVID-19.
Next for Wayland is the Innisbrook Invitational on Sept. 28 and 29 in Palm Harbor, Fla.
"To have Jake playing good golf to go with Sebastien and Sentanio… If we can get our 3-4-5 guys shooting under par, that'll be awesome," Harp said. "There are little things we need to work on, but I'm really pleased with everyone's attitude and work ethic. I'm excited."
