(LEBANON, Ill., May 1)--William Woods University led by nine strokes after the first round and pulled away over the final 18 holes to capture the championship in the American Midwest Conference/Dakota Athletic Conference Unaffiliated Men's Golf Championship on Saturday. The 36-hole event was held at Whispering Creek Golf Course in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Owls posted a team score of 301 in the first round and bettered that with a 300 over the final 18 holes to finish with a team score of 601. William Woods won the tournament by 28 strokes over runner-up Minot State University. Dickinson State University was third at 631.

Among other AMC teams competing in the nine-team field, Missouri Baptist University was fourth at 632, McKendree University finished fifth at 644 and Hannibal-LaGrange was next in sixth place with a team score of 655.

Individually, William Woods took two of the top four spots. Sophomore J.D. Nash won top individual honors with a 36-hole score of 144. Junior Austin Waibel grabbed fourth place at 152. Senior Kyle Kovar was right behind in sixth place with a score of 153.

By winning the AMC/Dakota/Unaffiliated Tournament, William Woods earned an automatic bid to the NAIA Men's Golf National Championship, which will be held May 18-21 at TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.