Gallery: (4-26-2023) SAC Golf Championships
FORT WORTH – Wayland Baptist finished in either second or third place at the last seven Sooner Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championships.
"It's been painful," Wayland coach
Tom Harp said about flirting with first place.
That pain went away this year as the Pioneers broke through and claimed the conference crown.
For the second time in school history, Wayland captured the conference title, winning the margin by a comfortable 10 strokes over rival Oklahoma City University. After rounds of 286 and 291 Monday that had the Pioneers leading by four shots, the 11
th-ranked Pioneers turned in a sparkling 284 over Tuesday's final 18 holes to distance themselves from the seven-team field.
"I can't tell you how good that feels," Harp said. "The guys played great."
Results
With a 3-under 861 total, 11
th-ranked Wayland finished 10 strokes ahead of No. 9 OCU (287-294-290—871) and 12 ahead of 14
th-ranked Texas Wesleyan (300-287-286—873). No. 21 Southwestern Christian (297-305-293—895) was a distant fourth.
"The guys played solid (Monday), then today the other teams came out on fire," Harp said. "Oak City got within two early, but our guys just stayed calm. They never looked rattled or pushed the panic button. They closed strong."
The conference title is the first since 2014 when Wayland captured its first league crown at Tascosa Country Club's La Paloma Course in Amarillo, hosted by WBU.
Harp pointed out that – besides winning the event hosted by Wayland – it was the Pioneers' first tournament victory in a couple of years, since the Texas Intercollegiate also in Fort Worth at Hawks Creek Golf Course in 2021 when WBU claimed four tournament titles.
Leading the Pioneers this week was sophomore
Benjamin Lubker, who followed rounds of 73 and 74 Monday with a 3-under 69, tied for the low score of the day. Lubker, whose 69 featured five birdies, wound up tied for fourth place in the 41-player field.
Lubker earned a spot on the five-person all-tournament team to go with his selection to the five-member all-conference squad as selected by league coaches.
"Ben was steady the whole tournament. So was Vlast," said Harp, named SAC Men's Coach of the Year for the fourth time.
Vlastimil Miler (70-73-75—218) was part of a trio of Pioneers who tied for seventh place, along with
Carson Grawunder (78-69-71—218) and
Jay Nathwani (72-75-71—218).
Zane Welborn (71-79-73—223) tied for 11
th place.
"Every one of them stepped up so big. I cannot tell you how proud I am of them," Harp said. "They've always had talent and good skills but their attitudes and the way they held themselves was so solid. I'm happy for them. I'm thrilled."
Winning the individual title was OCU's Leandro Mihaich, who shot 67-71-70 for an 8-under 208 and three-shot win over Rory White of TXWES.
Next for the Pioneers are the NAIA National Championships May 23-26 at Las Senda Golf Course in Mesa, Ariz.
"We'll go home and figure it out and get ready," Harp said. "If we can figure out how to play that course right we'll be in good shape."
The Pioneers have qualified for nationals the last 11 times the event was held.
| 2022-23 All-Sooner Athletic Conference Men's Golf |
| Player of the Year: Leandro Mihaich, Oklahoma City |
| Freshman of the Year: Leandro Mihaich, Oklahoma City |
| Coach of the Year: Tom Harp, Wayland Baptist |
| ALL-CONFERENCE |
| Tom Amman |
Texas Wesleyan |
Jr. |
Mainz, Germany |
| Chayan Duha |
Texas Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Paris |
| Benjamin Lubker |
Wayland Baptist |
So. |
Fano, Denmark |
| Leandro Mihaich |
Oklahoma City |
Fr. |
Córdoba, Argentina |
| Dylan Teeter |
Oklahoma City |
So. |
Bixby, Okla. |
