SIKESTON, Mo. - If there was a grand slam title to win, the Poplar Bluff golf team would own that as well.
The Mules continued their stranglehold on the area's major events with a dominant win at the SEMO Conference Tournament championship Monday at Fox Haven Country Club.
Poplar Bluff defeated the 10-team field with a combined score of 315 and their top four golfers broke the top 10 for all-conference honors on a sun-filled day perfect for hitting the links.
Notre Dame, last year's conference champions, was Poplar Bluff's closest competitor at 331. Jackson took third with a 352.
"Anytime you win - don't care if it's tiddlywinks - a win is a win," Poplar Bluff coach Billy Pyland said. "It makes you feel good. I always tell my guys to cherish their wins and don't take it for granted."
Nathan Woolard led the Mules with a 2-over-par 73 for medalist honors. He was four strokes ahead of teammate Justin Pierce and Notre Dame's Jonathan Bell.
Woolard is Poplar Bluff's first SEMO Conference medalist since Carr Vernon in 2011. No Poplar Bluff golfer has been as close as fifth in the last two years.
"I just hope I can keep it going," Woolard said. "With districts coming up soon, hopefully I can win there, sectionals and, hopefully, state."
Poplar Bluff's Ryan Bridgwater tied for fifth at 82 while Justin Capps tied for eighth a stroke back. Analeise Pyland shot 93, matching or beating the final scorer for all but one team.
This caps Poplar Bluff's regular-season run through the area's biggest tournaments. The Mules also claimed the Notre Dame Invitational, the Jackson Invitational and their own tournament all in the last 21 days.
Facing mostly the same teams and golfers and knowing they hold wins above them in those three events doesn't add any extra pressure to the Mules, according to Coach Pyland. His team, which earned its second conference title in three years and 10th since 2002, simply plays their game.
"We just play our own game, try to make pars.," Coach Pyland said. "We don't think about who we got to beat because any team can beat you on any given day. Just play your shot, play your game and see what happens."
The key to Poplar Bluff's wide margin of victory was playing it safe.
"In cases where we were in trouble, we'd punch it out and hit it on [the fairway] and try to get bogey and par instead of big numbers," Coach Pyland said. "I told them it's all about the team. If you get a double or triple bogey, you're hurting your team. We just needed to be smart."
Woolard, who finished tied for 10th last year, got a birdie right out of the gate. He finished the front nine with an even-par 35 with seven straight pars before a bogey on the par-3 ninth. A birdie on the par-4 12th got the junior to 1-under but a bogey on the next hole, a par-3, put him even again.
"I felt like I got up and down quite a bit," Woolard said. "My chips were pretty good. There were a few bad putts but I made a few long ones to make up for the ones I missed. I didn't drive well but they were good misses."
Woolard finished his round birdie-bogey following a double-bogey on 16.
"He did a lot of good things," Pyland said. "He's driving the ball well and he's putting the ball well. We worked on approach shots with him and he's finally getting that down. It's giving him some opportunities to make some birdies."
Pierce had a pair of birdies during his round -- the par-5 third and 11th holes -- to go with eight pars. The junior was 2-over after two holes but made the turn at 3-over.
Bridgewater carded seven pars while Capps had 11.
With temperatures reaching as high as 75 with a slight hint of a breeze, Monday was considered by many as one of the best days their teams have had all season. Although most of the finishing scores didn't show it as only three players broke 80 and 15 broke 90.
Unlike year's past, the team scores and individual all-conference awards were not separated into large school and small school divisions.
Dexter placed fifth at 379 led by Spencer Warren's 85 for all-conference honors tied for 10th. Brad Freeman (97), Scott Strickler (98), Tristan Ash (99) scored for the Bearcats while Jake Harris shot one stroker better than Saxony Lutheran's fifth golfer to break a tie.
Logan Melson led Doniphan at 116 as the Dons shot 524 with Emily Ederer (129), Sawyer Patterson (136), Macy Buagh (143) and Thomas Hawks (143).
Malden's Corey Prentice shot 90.