Jun. 1—The Sooners fell back Monday at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, site of the NCAA championship, yet remained in position to chase a national championship beginning today.
The Sooners fired off a final stroke-play round of 9-over par 289, bringing them to 10-over par 1,130 over 72 holes.
In second place when the day began, only looking up at Bedlam rival Oklahoma State, the Sooners fell to fourth, while the Cowboys dropped to second following a 12-over par round of 292 that left them at even par 1,120.
Arizona State claimed the top spot after a round of 275 made for a 72-hole total of 1,117. Pepperdine claimed the third spot at 1,125.
Behind OU were Illinois (1,134), Florida State (1,136), Vanderbilt (1,144) and North Carolina (1,145).
Those eight programs enter match play beginning this morning, with OU taking on Illinois, Pepperdine meeting Florida State, Oklahoma State taking on Vanderbilt and Arizona State meeting North Carolina.
Morning matches will cut the field from eight to four teams. Afternoon matches will leave two teams standings, who will come back Wednesday to compete for the national championship.
The Sooners are the only program to reach the match play in five consecutive national tournaments.
Two different Sooners tied for sixth-place overall. Jonathan Brightwell (68-69-69-72) and Quade Cummins (69-68-68-73) both finished at 2-under par 278, five strokes back of NCAA individual champion Turk Pettit, from Clemson, whose rounds of 68-67-68-70 were enough to clip OSU’s Bo Jin — 67-65-69-73 — by a stroke.
The highlight of the day belonged to OU’s Logan McAllister, whose even-par 70 included a hole-in-one on the fifth hole. Listed at 205 yards, McAllister needed only a nine-iron to card the ace.
Also for OU, Ben Lorenz fired a 74, while Garett Reband, OU’s No. 1 bag entering the national tourney, struggled, shooting 80.
Of course, none of that matters beginning today. This morning, each Sooner will take on a single member of the Fighting Illini, each team needing a victory from three of its five players to move on to the afternoon.
“[Tuesday] we’ll start a completely different golf tournament with match play,” OU coach Ryan Hybl said. “We’re excited to be in this position.”
Clay Horning
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