Results
OKLAHOMA CITY – Turns out the Wayland Baptist men's golf team can handle sleeping on a lead pretty well.
The top-ranked Pioneers followed an opening-round 278 with a school-record 273 on Tuesday to claim the title at the U.C. Ferguson Classic for the first time in that event's 41-year history.
"That was pretty spectacular," Wayland coach
Tom Harp said.
Wayland's final two-round total of 555 was six shots better than runner-up Oklahoma Baptist.
Harp wasn't sure after Monday's round how his Pioneers would react to holding the first-round lead. It wasn't an issue as Wayland rolled to the 14
th tournament title in school history and first since 2011.
What's more, Tuesday's 11-under 273 broke the 18-hole school record of 274 shot by the 2006 WBU team at Palm Valley Golf Course in Goodyear, Ariz., and Wayland's 551 shattered the 36-hole school record of 565 from Hawks Creek Golf Course in Fort Worth that has stood since 2007. Certainly the 54-hole school record of 845 would have been in danger, too, except Monday's play was cut from 36 holes to 18 by bad weather.
"It was a lot of fun to watch them play," Harp said, adding that it's the first time in WBU history that all five players turned in under-par rounds, "which is mind boggling.
"I know it's not the toughest course, but the conditions were," Harp said. "It was cold and windy, and it didn't play real easy, for sure."
The Pioneers sure made it look easy, though.
Incredibly, Wayland threw out first-round leader
Anders Ellingsberg's 1-under 70 on Tuesday. Instead, the Pioneers used a trio of 68s from
Ryan Connolly, Steven Diak and
Ian Ansett, and a 69 from
Leighton Bearchell to form their record-breaking performance.
Ellingsberg, who shot a 66 Monday, finished the 16-team, 83-player tournament with 4-under 136 to tie for second place, one shot behind winner Cody Taylor of the University of Oklahoma, who shot 69-66—135.
Connolly and Diack tied for fifth place with identical rounds of 70-68—138, while Ansett (73-68—141) and Bearchell (72-69—141) tied for 11
th.
Finishing well behind Wayland, which is ranked No. 1 in the NAIA by golfstat.com, and OBU were Cal State-San Marcos in third (568) along with Sooner Athletic Conference schools Oklahoma City in fourth (573), Northwood in sixth, Oklahoma City Blue in 10
th, Southwestern Christian in 13
th, John Brown University in 15
th and Mid-America Christian in 16
th.
The Pioneers, who finished second against a field ripe with NCAA Division II powers at the fall season-opening Ryan Palmer Invitational in Amarillo a month ago, have two more tournaments before breaking for winter. Wayland competes at the St. Mary's Fall Invitational at Dominion Golf Club in San Antonio Oct. 21 and 22 followed by the Northwood Fall Shootout at Tangleridge Golf Club in Grand Prairie Oct. 28 and 29.
