OKLAHOMA CITY—Southern Nazarene hosted the 17th Annual Baker Golf Classic at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club on Oct. 4, a fundraiser supporting the SNU Men's and Women's Basketball teams.

 

Specifically, the funds generated from the event directly support the pursuit of a degree from SNU. The tournament featured a putting competition, a chipping competition, a longest drive challenge, and a four-person shamble.

 

The Baker Classic gets its name in memory of David Baker, SNU's first athletic director and head basketball coach. Baker, a native of Oklahoma played football under legendary coach Bud Wilkinson at the University of Oklahoma. During his time at the University of Oklahoma, Baker played defensive back, quarterback, and running back. He was a part of the 47 game-winning streak team and won three Big 7 championships. Baker was drafted fifth overall and recorded 21 interceptions in three seasons. 

 

Following a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, another NFL contract seemed imminent for Baker, but divine intervention would carve out a different path for him. A call came from Dr. Roy Cantrell, President of SNU, asking for a meeting to discuss with Baker the possibility of coming to SNU to begin intercollegiate athletics and be a professor of physical education. The position would include being the first athletic director and head basketball coach. Forsaking a lucrative NFL contract and all of its amenities, David and Edna Baker came to Bethany, signed an SNU contract worth $3,600 annually, and kickstarted a legacy.

 

The day was full of plenty of action as 24 teams competed in three different flights. The teams played a two-ball shamble, meaning each participant teed off and the team selected the best drive. Each team member would then play their own ball from the best tee shot and record the top two scores.

 

It was tight to the final hole as just one stroke separated the winning team. Brad Wilson, Jeremy Lamb, Brent LaVigne, and Dave Graham grabbed the victory in the Claud Cypert Fight with a score of 130, narrowly edging the second place score of 131. They would be named the overall tournament champions.

 

The Larry Mills Flight saw just a two stroke separation from first and third place. Lance Franklin, Mark McClintock, Tyler Easton, and Mike Rogers ultimately took the top spot with 143 showing.

 

The Jeff Jantz flight was even tighter, seeing a scorecard playoff between the top two spots at 149. Steve Hulsey, Frank Jeldy, Lillie West, and Rod Eskridge grabbed the final flight victory in the playoff.

 

The Longest Drive contest on Hole #8 went to William Payne, while Keith Pigg won the Longest Drive on #13. SNU's own Tanner Stiles and Travis Veatch won the Closest to the Hole competitions on #4 and #11.

 

The tournament also offered a Remote Flight in which teams who could not attend on Monday were able to play a two-ball shamble on their own at a course of their choosing and turn in their score cards. Team Banz would come away with the win.

 

Tournament Results

Cypert Flight	Mills Flight	Jantz Flight
1st (130)	1st (143)	1st (149)
Brad Wilson	Lance Franklin	Steve Hulsey
Jeremy Lamb	Mark McClintock	Frank Jeldy
Brent La Vigne	Tyler Easton	Lille West
Dave Graham	Mike Rogers	Rod Eskridge
2nd (131)	2nd (144)	2nd (149)
Renner Jantz	Travis Veatch	Mark P.
James Perry	Kevin Ingram	Tim Schwenke
Tyler Neal	Grant Ledbetter	Britton Hobbs
Zane Bailey	Tanner Stiles	Brad J.
3rd (134)	3rd (145)	3rd (150)
Grayson May	Bob Hammann	Ken Guthery
Hayes White	Denton Everett	Tom O'keefe
Price McClure	Chad Dunn	Jace Larsen
Drake May	Corey Carter

SPONSORS

Corporate Sponsors	Team Sponsors	Hole Sponsors
Don and Carolyn Maulsby	Dick and Mary Cox	Seastar Initiatives
Norman Urology Associates	ReRoof America	Dentcraft
State Farm	Lafayette Legal Services	Andy and Rhonda McKamie
Hobby Lobby	John/Edna Westmoreland	Charles Seymore
R.K. Black	Reynolds Ford	Gary and Linda Banz
Seastar Initiative	Robert Hammann	Paul Rothwell
TDR Transforms	'81 Championship Team	Gary Unruh
Primary Health Partners	Piedmont Middle School	Duane Cory
Surrey Hills Golf Club	InTurst Bank	Diffee Ford/Lincoln
Oklahoma Fidelity Bank	Aegis Roofing	Gary and Marilyn Fraizer
Chairma Design Group	Phoenix Restoration	Berg Dentistry
	Hudiburg Auto Group	SNU Dining
	Trent May	LW Insurance Services
	Carl and Marcia Sawyer Honorary Team	Allstate- Robbie Bennett
	Wanda Rhodes Honorary Team	Ron Mercer
	Claud and Betty Cypert Honorary Team	Steve Frazier
		Insurica- Tom Caraway
		Mike and Kathy Loyd
		Hall-Stewart Lawn & Landscape
		Mike Ingram
		Debbie Brown
		First Bethany Bank
		Jeff Jantz State Farm Insurance
		Adam and Christie Bohac
		Bethany First Church of the Nazarene
		Roadrunner Embroidery & Promotions
		Kairos Koaching
		Carl and Anna Hamilton
		Oklahoma Body Works