Motivated HCU golfer Pawlak takes individual honors at LaTour Intercollegiate tournament

It wasn’t so much what Brooks Pawlak carried in his bag as much as it was what was on his shoulder that served as a driving force in the Houston Christian University freshman taking the individual honors of the LaTour Intercollege tournament Tuesday hosted by Nicholls and held at the LaTour Golf Club in Mathews.

Pawlak was entered in the event not as one of the five players on the HCU team, but as an individual.

“I came in with a bit of a chip on my shoulder, coming in as the sixth man. I really wanted to play well and prove myself out there. It was good,” said Pawlak.

Pawlak shot an even-par 72 on Tuesday, to follow up opening-day rounds of 67 and a 69 to hold on to win the event. The HCU freshman, who finished with a 208 total at -8, won by two shots over Stephen F. Austin’s Jake Smelser. Pawlak held a two-shot lead over Landen East of Southeastern Louisiana by two strokes going into the final round.

Smelser led a strong contingent of Lumberjacks to the team title. Along with his second-place finish, five other SFA players finished in the top 12.

“It was impressive. It’s been a while since SFA won a golf tournament,” said Lumberjack assistant coach Jackson Smith. “It seemed like whenever the wind started to pick up, we played a little bit better.

“After the way the guys finished up the second round, I knew the guys were very confident. They knew they could have a chance to win this tournament if they played well. It’s nice to bring some hardware back to Nacogdoches.”

While the Lumberjack players may have enjoyed the stronger winds, such was not the case for most of the rest of the field. After virtually no wind on Monday, a wind out of the east at approximately 15 miles per hour led to higher scores on Tuesday.

“Today was playing much harder,” Pawlak said. “That wind was really up there. It was two or three clubs at times. It really added to the challenge of this course. It was really tough.”

“When the wind picks up over here, it plays a little tougher. The first round, it played a little easier. We played better when it got tougher, which showed a lot,” said Smith.

Following Pawlak and Smelser, there was a three-way tie for third place. Cameron Hubbard of SFA, Kyle Bennett of UNO, and East all finished with a 211 total at -5.

Chance Mulligan of Texas A&M-Commerce was sixth at -3, and Jaxon Griffith of SFA was seventh at -2.

There was a four-way tie for eighth. Eyan Edsall of SFA, Cooper New of HCU, Joe Buenfeld of Incarnate Word, and Griffin Dorr all finished at -1.

There was a six-way tie for 12th. Among those finishing at even par were Ryan Esparza of SFA, and Chase Pochylko of Nicholls. The top finisher for the Colonels shot rounds of 71, 72, and 73.

SFA pulled away in the final round to take the team title. The Lumberjacks shot 281 on the final round to end the tournament at 851, 13-under par. SFA shot -7 on the final round. The next best team effort on the day was Southeastern Louisiana at +4.

“We minimized the big numbers a lot. We had a couple, but other than that, we were able to make pars when we needed to,” explained Smith.

Following SLU at 857 was the University of New Orleans at 860, HCU at 862, and Incarnate Word rounded out the top five at 865.

Nicholls finished the event in the same spot the Colonels ended the first day in sixth place. The Colonels shot 300 on the final day for an 847 total at +10.

Rounding out the field were Texas A&M-Commerce at 887, Prairie View at 899, Texas Southern at 910, and the University of Mobile at 927. Mobile was the only non-Division I participant in the event.

The course received high regards from the participants.

“I like this course,” said Pawlak. “It’s in really great shape. They take good care of it. It was a great test to the game, all around.”

“I love this course. I played here when I was in college. I had a chance to win this tournament back when it was (held in) the spring of my senior year. Every time I come back here; I love this course. LaTour did a great job of setting it up. It was a great layout. It was great to get the win out here,” said Smith, who was a senior golfer at UNO in 2018.