SANDESTIN, Fla. -- The LeTourneau men's golf team may have slipped outside the Top 25 recently, but the YellowJackets showed they are still one of the top teams in the region and a national name.

LeTourneau finished tied for fifth -- out of 25 teams -- at the annual Golfweek October Classic, which concluded on Tuesday at the par-71 Raven Golf Club. The YellowJackets placed two players inside the top-10 and stayed inside the top five for the majority of the 54-hole tournament.

LeTourneau was playing in the prestigious tournament -- which featured nine teams ranked in the current Scoreboard/Clippd Top 25 -- for a third straight season. The fifth-place finish marked the second time the YellowJackets have been in the top-five at Golfweek.

LeTourneau opened with a 2-under, 282 on Sunday to hold the first round lead before placing in a tie for fifth overall with a 20-over, 872 (282-300-290). The YellowJackets tied with No. 3 Huntingdon and No. 10 Wisconsin-Eau Claire. LeTourneau bested three teams in the current top 25, including No. 12 Bethel (Minn.), No. 16 Wisconsin-Stout, and No. 22 St. John's (Minn.).

Trey Cates led the way and was near the top of the leaderboard throughout the tournament before finishing with a 1-under, 212 (68-70-74) and tied for sixth. Cates had a four-birdie round on Sunday as he carded a 3-under, 68 before shooting a 1-under, 70 on Monday with one eagle and one birdie. He held the lead for much of the final round on Tuesday in a tightly-packed leaderboard before finishing in a tie for sixth with Rhodes' Parker Tenent.

It was Cates' third top-10 finish of the year and the 12th of his career.

Brody Holmlund soared up the leaderboard in the final round and finished tied for eighth with an even-par, 213 (69-77-67). The sophomore moved up 21 spots in the final round as he carded a career-best round of 4-under, 67 with six birdies -- including three straight at one point. Holmlund opened on Sunday with a 2-under, 69 which featured four birdies as he ended with a team-best 12 birdies for the tournament. It was Holmlund's third top-10 this year.

Corbin King had a top-20 finish in a field which included 125 golfers. King was tied for 19th overall with a 4-over, 217 (70-73-74). King had five birdies in his first round that saw him finish 1-under, 70. He finished the tournament with 11 birdies and led the field in par-4 scoring at 3.93.

Landon Druyvesteyn (24-over, 237) and Luke Nelson (32-over, 245) rounded out the LeTourneau golfers. Druyvesteyn had an opening round score of 4-over, 75 and finished with rounds of 80 and 82 with six birdies. Nelson, coming off his first career victory, had a third-round score of 4-over 75 to go with two rounds of 85 and six birdies for the tournament.

No. 6-ranked Illinois Wesleyan took the team title with an 8-over, 860 (295-278-287), while medalist honors went to Til Wagner of Hampden-Sydney as he finished 4-under, 209 (66-73-70).

UP NEXT

LeTourneau returns to action in the spring season. The full spring schedule will be announced soon.

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