PLAINVIEW — Andrew Williamson, one of the most decorated golfers in Wayland Baptist University’s history, is scheduled to be inducted Nov. 4 in WBU’s Athletics Hall of Honor.
Williamson will be among five Wayland alumni to be honored during the ceremony slated for 9 a.m. in Banquet Room 211 in McClung University Center on the university’s Plainview campus. Other athletes and coaches to be inducted include women’s basketball veteran Rosemary Brown Bowser, men’s basketball standout Alexey Carvalho, wrestling coach Johnny Cobb, and baseball great Brett Cook. The Hall of Honor ceremony is free and open to the public.
Williamson considered himself a college golf project when he arrived at Wayland in 2014. “I had a lot of room for improvement,” he said. But supportive parents, a dedicated coach and endless hours of hard work transformed Williamson into a conference player of the year, a four-time All-American, and an accomplished academic.
He was named 2015 Sooner Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year before tying for 13th at the NAIA National Championships to earn the first of three All-National Tournament honors. The Pioneers finished fifth as a team, the second-highest placing in program history. The next three years, Wayland finished sixth, seventh and eighth at nationals.
As a sophomore, Williamson secured the first of his two tournament titles against a loaded field at the San Antonio Shootout. He placed third at the SAC Championships and was named SAC Player of the Year before tying for 17th place at nationals. As a junior, Williamson was second at the SAC Championships and tied for 12th at nationals. As a senior he again won the San Antonio Shootout. Besides his two wins, Williamson finished as a tournament runner-up an incredible nine times.
In his final two tourneys at Wayland, Williamson led the SAC Championship after the first two rounds before settling for fifth place, then had his best career finish at nationals – a tie for sixth. It was at his last tournament – at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. – where Williamson set the WBU record for lowest 72-hole score, a two-under 282. Two tournaments before that he set the still-standing program mark for lowest 54-hole score, 14-under 196, at Primm Valley, Nev., where Williamson’s lowest 18-hole score as a Pioneer – a 64 – came in the first round. He also recorded five 66s throughout his collegiate career.
Williamson finished his senior season as the NAIA’s second-rated golfer with a 70.87 stroke average and – in addition to being a three-time finalist for the NAIA’s Jack Nicklaus Award – was named to the All-Nicklaus Team representing the top 24 golfers across all collegiate divisions. Williamson, who graduated with a degree in business administration, became Wayland’s second four-time All-American and earned numerous national academic honors, including CoSIDA Men’s At-Large College Division National Academic All-America of the Year in 2017 and twice NAIA Scholar-Athlete. He was named 2018 winner of the Roy McClung Award as WBU's top senior student athlete.
Williamson went on to play two years on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa and currently plays on the Big Easy Tour, a development tour. Last year, he started his own tutoring business.
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