Cowboys, Sooners survive NCAA cut, look for match play berths

EUGENE, Ore. – Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team used a 285 during its third round at the NCAA Championship on Sunday to move up five spots into a tie for ninth place while the Oklahoma Sooners survived a tie-breaker to nab one of the final spots in the 15-team field that survived the cut at Eugene Country Club.

The 5-over tally moved the Cowboys safely inside the 54-hole cut line with a 19-over total of 859, tying them with Illinois. The 30-team field was cut in half after 54 holes at the par-70, 7,014-yard layout and will be trimmed to eight teams for the match play bracket after tomorrow’s fourth round of stroke play.

Vanderbilt leads the event with a 5-over score of 847 after posting a 282 during its third round.

Oregon’s Aaron Wise rose 14 spots on the individual leaderboard after firing a 64 to stand two shots clear of the field at 6-under 204.

Sophomore Stratton Nolen posted a 72 to stand at 214 and tied for 30th place to lead the OSU starting five.

Kristoffer Ventura carded a 73 during his third round to finish the day tied for 36th place at 215. The sophomore was joined at 215 by classmate Sam Stevens, who signed for a 71 to get to his total.

Senior Jordan Niebrugge made the squad’s biggest move of the day, firing a 69 to move up 43 spots into a tie for 50th place at 216. Niebrugge played a bogey-free outward nine that featured birdies at the 10th and 17th to turn at 2-under 32. After carding his lone bogey of the day at the second, he reeled off seven pars in row to get to his 1-under score.

Sophomore Brendon Jelley’s 73 tied him for 85th place at 220.

The Cowboys will begin their final round tomorrow at 3:10 p.m. (CST) and will be grouped with Arizona State and California.

Live scoring is available at golfstat.com and the Golf Channel will televise the action on Monday from 6-9 p.m. CST.

The Sooners shot a 289 on Sunday, bringing their total to 867 (+27) and putting them in a five-way tie for 14th. OU qualified for Monday’s final round of stroke play due to the tournament’s tiebreaker rules, which determine the advancing team based on the cumulative total of the first three rounds’ non-counting scores.

“We survived for another day, and we are super excited about our opportunity tomorrow,” seventh-year OU head coach Ryan Hybl said. “I am proud of our guys because we fought hard all day. It wasn’t pretty, but we are fighting for one of those eight slots tomorrow.”

No. 8 seed Vanderbilt paces the tournament with a three-round 845. No. 2 Texas holds second at 847, and No. 3 USC sits in third with an 850. No. 12 LSU is in fourth and No. 20 Oregon is in fifth, posting an 851 and an 852 respectively. The Sooners will need to make up a nine-shot deficit over eighth place California and pass six other squads as well to advance to match play.

Senior Luke Kwon and freshman Brad Dalke lead the Sooners, sharing 75th place at 219 (+9). Kwon opened up the round with an eagle and went on to finish the day at 73 (+3) for the third consecutive round. Dalke recorded a 75 (+5) in the third round, pocketing one birdie.

Blaine Hale showed improvement for the second day in a row, collecting two birdies en route to a 70 (E), the best round of the day for the Sooners.  The freshman shares 85th place with a three-round 220 (+10).

The Sooners advanced even without No. 1 player Max McGreevy, who struggled to an 80 in the third round after shooting a combined 1-over the first 36 holes. He is in a tie for 96th place with a 221 (+11). 

Sitting one stroke behind McGreevy is sophomore Grant Hirschman, who is tied for 103rd place. Hirschman’s 71 (+1) on Sunday marked his best round of the tournament so far.

Additionally, McGreevy, Hirschman and Dalke were named to the Division I PING All-Central Region Team, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced Sunday morning.

The fourth round of the NCAA Championships is scheduled to begin Monday afternoon. The Sooners will tee off at 1:30 p.m. CT alongside No. 16 seed Florida and No. 30 Louisville. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com, and the Golf Channel will air competition beginning at 6 p.m. CT.