BROKEN ARROW, Okla. – It was tense down the stretch, but the Arkansas Tech men's golf team finished strong and secured the program's fourth Great American Conference Championship all-time and first since 2021 on Tuesday afternoon.
FINAL ROUND TEAM RESULTS | FINAL ROUND INDIVIDUAL RESULTS | FINAL ROUND STATS
The leader in the clubhouse after each of the first two rounds, the Wonder Boys entered the final round on Tuesday with an 11-stroke lead. That cushion they gave themselves through great play on Sunday and Monday proved to be much needed as No. 19-ranked Harding made a major push and jumped into second place with a three-over (291) final round.
That surge by Harding saw the Bisons be nine strokes better than the next low team score of 300, which the Wonder Boys coincidentally shot along with Southern Arkansas, Henderson State and Arkansas-Monticello.
Despite Harding's push, they were not among the final group on the course and were in the clubhouse as the Wonder Boys showed championship mettle in closing out the win.
One of the key factors in the Wonder Boys staving off all comers on Tuesday was
Roby Cooper's even-par round of 72. That kept him at nine-over for the tournament and vaulted him up 14 spots on the team leaderboard where he finished T16.
The rest of the rounds turned in the final round were over par, but when they needed it the most, all five golfers in Tech's lineup put up a red number on the final hole – No. 18 – a par-5. Perhaps the biggest moment on the final hole saw recently named First Team All-GAC by unanimous decision,
Jacob Peetoom, make eagle.
It was the lone eagle of his tournament and for all intents and purposes as the second-to-last golfer on the course for the Wonder Boys, sealed the win. He would finish the tournament at three-over (219) and tied for fourth to earn GAC All-Tournament Team honors.
Joining Peetoom with those honors on the all-tournament team was
Cameron Twynholm. The freshman Honorable Mention All-GAC selection finished second overall at one-over (217), falling three strokes back of individual medalist honors.
Landon Lawson, last year's tournament champion, finished strong at T7 with a six-over (222) tournament score.
The Wonder Boys have now secured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Midwest/Central Region Championships and await the official selection to be announced by the NCAA this coming Sunday.
