Auburn tops Cowboys in rain, wind at The Clerico
TULSA, Okla. – Auburn junior Josiah Gilbert swiped his second trophy of the fall with a low medalist performance at The Clerico to lead the No. 16 Tigers to their first team title of the season in an 8-over showing at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Proud of the response from the guys this week,” head coach Nick Clinard said. “This was an extremely challenging course with some adverse conditions, and they managed it well. It’s a great feeling to end the fall with some hardware. We’ll take this momentum into the offseason and come back ready to hopefully earn some more hardware in the spring.”
Champion Josiah Gilbert of Auburn flanked by John and Cheryl Clerico.Auburn won The Clerico by six strokes. Its nearest competitor was the reigning national champion, No. 17 Oklahoma State, which finished at 14-over.
Oklahoma State coach Alan Bratton, whose squad began the final 18 holes one shot behind Auburn, was not happy at all with the way his team responded when the rain began late in their front nine. The Cowboys collectively made 17 bogeys and three triple bogeys on the back nine in shooting 16-over 296 in the final round.
“We just didn’t handle the adversity very well and that’s disappointing,” Bratton said. “You’re going to miss greens out here but you still have to be able to grind and get up-and-down and save pars. We did not do that well at all.”
John Clerico received thanks from numerous players for having the event at Southern Hills.Case in point. Felip Fahlberg-Johnsson made four birdies in his first eight holes for a sizzling start. After the rain began, he made five bogeys, three double bogeys and no birdies in his final 10 holes to shoot 77.
Gaven Lane led OSU for the tournament finishing fourth at 2-over after a final-round 76. Ethan Fang shot 71, the best of the OSU scores Tuesday, and finished tied for seventh at 4-over.
Preston Stout signed for a 74 to grab sole possession of 10th place. The finish marked the best showing in three starts this fall for the All-American.
Junior Eric Lee carded a 75 during his third round to finish at 218 and tied for 16th place, while Fahlberg-Johnsson also finished in the top 20, tying for 19th place. The sophomore posted a 77 to close play and finished at 219.
Rain fell for most of the final 10 holes at Southern Hills Tuesday.Gilbert’s victory came on the back of rounds of 72, 64 and 71. He led the field in birdies made with 14, six of which came in his bogey-free middle round. It’s the Millbrook, Alabama native’s third career win. He earned his second earlier this fall at the Honors Course Invitational.
Each of the Tigers’ starting five finished 19th or better in the 63-man field.
WAGR No. 1 Jackson Koivun earned his second consecutive top 10 with a fifth-place finish at 3-over. Koivun went 71-70-72. His 12 birdies ranked second in the field, only behind teammate Gilbert.
Host Oral Roberts finished seventh, led by Christian Johnson in 19th at 9-over after a closing 72. The tournament is sponsored by Southern Hills members and Oral Roberts donors John and Cheryl Clerico.
As a team, ORU finished 45-over par (289-291-305) and earned seventh place. Johnson and Ben Gratzl each recorded a top 25 finish.Johnson fired 71-76-72, earning a team-high finish at nine-over. His 72 in round three was five shots lower than the round three average (77.02).
Gratzl tied for 25th at eight over par (76-68-77). Gratzl’s 68 (-2) in round two was ORU’s lowest round of the tournament. Gustav Liljeberg shot 75-70-77 (+12), closing out The Clerico tied for 28th.
Tulsan Will Sides of Southern Methodist, playing on his home course, shot rounds of 73-69-72 to finish tied for seventh.