WICHITA, Kansas – Texas Wesleyan junior Ryan Craig birdied two of his last five holes on Tuesday to claim medallist honors at the Jet Classic, played at the Reflection Ridge Golf Club in Wichita, Kansas. It is his first tournament win as a collegiate player. His two day total of 140 also helped spark the Rams to a third-place team finish, their highest of the season.

Craig opened the tournament with a 1-under 71, making 4 birdies against 3 bogies. He began Tuesday’s final round two strokes back of the leader, but fired a 3-under 69 to claim a two-stroke victory over Jon Hart of St. Gregory’s. His win was punctuated by an amazing approach to the 18th green. Thinking he needed birdie to win, Craig launched a nine-iron from 145 away in light rough. It stopped a foot from the hole.

“I’ve been playing more consistent golf lately,” said Craig. “[Wesleyan assistant] Coach Cornett has been helping me with my ball striking lately, and that paid off this week. Aside from that, I haven’t been doing anything particularly great; I’ve just been real solid with every club in my bag.”

As it turned out, he only needed par to win, so the tap-in birdie gave him a two-stroke victory. Perhaps it will also give him a little extra confidence heading into next week’s tournament hosted by Texas Wesleyan at Tierra Verde Golf Course in Arlington.

“For him to put one that close on 18, with that kind of pressure, that was impressive,” said Wesleyan head golf coach Kevin Millikan. “That’s the kind of shot that sticks with you for awhile. It was clutch.”

As a team, the Rams finished with a 2-day total of 596, just 6 strokes behind first-place Oklahoma Christian University. Wesleyan shot 291 to tie for the lead after one round, but the team had trouble scoring on Tuesday. Aside from Craig’s 69, the Rams posted scores of 78-79-79 to fall into third place. Still, it is their highest finish of the year, besting their ninth-place showing at the Eagle Invitational hosted by Oklahoma Christian in late October.

The third place finish means that the Rams, currently ranked as the 15th-best NAIA program in the country by Golfstat, might move into the top ten nationally. Those results will be posted later in the week.

The Rams return to action on Monday, hosting the two-day Texas Intercollegiate at Tierra Verde Golf Course in south Arlington.