Cowboys, Sooners begin NCAA hunt again at Carmel Cup
Defending NCAA champion Oklahoma State and ninth-ranked Oklahoma will gettheir seasons underway this weekend in the Carmel Cup at Spyglass Hill Golf Course.
The 54-hole event will get underway with Friday’s first round and run through Sunday with 18 holes being contested each day. The tournament will feature a six-count-five format, allowing for each lineup to utilize an additional player.
The Cowboys, who enter the season as the nation’s top-ranked team in the Golfweek preseason poll, will start first-team All-Americans Ethan Fang and Preston Stout as well as fellow junior and honorable mention All-American Eric Lee. They will be joined in the lineup by senior John Wild, sophomore Gaven Lane and redshirt freshman Collin Bond.
The Cowboys captured three consecutive team titles, finishing first in 2015, 2016 and 2017 at the event. OSU was last in the tournament field in 2021, registering a one-shot victory over the field.
Matthew Wolff claimed medalist honors in 2018.
The Cowboys will begin play at 12:58 p.m. (CST) and will be grouped with Oklahoma and Texas Tech.
“We’re really excited about this season,” said OU head coach Ryan Hybl, now in his 17th year leading the program. “We’ve got a lot of experience returning with five of our six guys from the NCAA Championships back in the lineup.”
Oklahoma’s lineup features Jase Summy, ranked No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and recently named to the Walker Cup team. He is joined by veterans Ryder Cowan, Matthew Troutman, Clark Van Gaalen and PJ Maybank III, with Cameron Cheek rounding out the lineup in the sixth spot.
The six-count-five format tournament features eight teams, including five ranked in the preseason top 25 with the Sooners entering at No. 9. Oklahoma is familiar with Pebble Beach, making its seventh appearance in the Carmel Cup since 2016. The Sooners won the event in 2018 and finished as runner-up in both 2019 and 2021. In that most recent trip four years ago, Logan McAllister claimed medalist honors.
Teams will begin play Friday afternoon, with OU’s first golfer scheduled to tee off at 12:48 p.m. CT. The field features No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 19 Texas Tech, No. 21 Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi State and TCU.
“It’s a quick start for us, especially since school just started this week and we haven’t had much time to build a rhythm. But that’s what this first week is about – building confidence and going out to compete,” Hybl said. “I really like where our guys are right now, and part of that is because the Jimmie (Austin OU Golf Club) has been playing tougher than usual, so they’ve already been tested. We’re looking forward to opening up at one of the greatest venues in the world.”
Hybl, the program’s all-time wins leader, has guided Oklahoma to 14 consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, a national title in 2017 and three conference championships since taking over in 2009. With 49 career tournament victories, he ranks fourth among active Division I coaches in career wins. Seventeen of his players have earned 34 All-America honors at OU. The 2022 Dave Williams National Coach of the Year, Hybl was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame in 2024.
“This event is truly special, not just in college golf but in the game of golf at any level,” Hybl said. “The teams get to compete at Pebble and Spyglass, and the people there do an incredible job hosting. We’ve been fortunate to play in it several times, and we’re certainly excited to be back this weekend.”
Live scoring for the event will be available at scoreboard.clippd.com.