Cowboys competing in New Haven Regional
Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team will be in search of the 68th NCAA Championship appearance in the 69-year history of the program this week when it begins NCAA Regional action on Thursday at the New Haven Regional at The Course at Yale in New Haven, Conn. The Cowboys will be the No. 4 seed in the regional and will begin play at 8:20 a.m. (EST) at the par-70, 6,803-yard layout. OSU will be grouped with fifth-seeded Arkansas and No. 6 seed San Diego State for its first round.
The 54-hole event will also feature 18 holes on Friday and Saturday. The top five teams and top individual not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will be conducted May 29-June 3, at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. Live scoring for the regional will be available at golfstat.com.
The Lineup
Oklahoma State’s lineup will be led by All-Big 12 selection Jordan Niebrugge, who enters play as the top-ranked Cowboy in the Golfwee/Sagarin rankings. The junior checks in at No. 45. Freshman Kristoffer Ventura, who also earned all-conference recognition, is ranked 48th. Sophomores Zachary Olsen and Wyndham Clark as well as redshirt freshman Brendon Jelley will round out the OSU starting five.
OSU In Regional Play
OSU has won 10 regional titles dating back to 1989. That year, the three-regional system was implemented and used until 2008. During that time, the Cowboys competed in the Central Regional every year, winning titles in 1989, 1990, 1997, 2002, 2003 and 2006. The 2009 campaign marked the first time a six-regional format was used. OSU hosted the South Central Regional and won its seventh regional title that year. In 2010, the Cowboys took the top spot at the Southeast Regional. OSU won the Colorado Regional in 2011 before winning the Columbia Regional last year. Nine times a Cowboy has claimed medalist honors at the event with Kevin Tway winning in 2008, 2009 and 2011. Kevin Wentworth (1989, 1990), Alan Bratton (1995), Bo Van Pelt (1997), Jonathan Moore (2006) and Peter Uihlein (2010) have also been regional medalists.
NCAA Rewind … 2014 Regional
Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team closed with a 16-under 272 during the third round of the NCAA Columbia Regional to cruise to a five-shot victory at The Club at Old Hawthorne. OSU’s 33-under total of 831 extended its NCAA-record regional victory total to 10. The win was also the fifth of the season for the Cowboys, the highest total for OSU since an eight-win campaign in 2010-11. The Cowboys produced two of the tournament’s runners-up with Talor Gooch and Jordan Niebrugge each posting 206 totals. Gooch closed with a 66, while Niebrugge’s 68 got him to his 10-under tally. Wyndham Clark signed for his third consecutive 70 to tie for 11th place at 6-under 210. Ian Davis carded a 68 during his third round to move into a tie for 17th place at 212. Zachary Olsen’s second 71 in a row tied him for 38th place at 219.
Last Time Out
The Cowboys closed play at the Big 12 Championship with a 286 tally to move into fifth place at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. OSU’s 6-over score gave them a 52-over total of 1,172 and put them a stroke out of fourth place, which was claimed by Iowa State. Texas posted a 10-over total of 1,130 en route to a 24-shot victory at the par-70, 7,151-yard layout. OSU was led by Jordan Niebrugge, who followed his third-round 70 with a 1-under 69, to move up eight spots into a tie for fifth place at 8-over 288. The Cowboy junior countered bogeys at the second and the fifth with birdies at the fourth and the ninth to turn at even-par 35. Zachary Olsen, who closed with a 35-foot birdie putt at the 18th with Niebrugge in the fairway, finished with a 74 to get in with a 293 total and tied for 16th place.