Cowboys tie for fourth, Sooners share ninth at N.I.T.
TUCSON, Ariz. – Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team fired a 274 during its final round at the N.I.T. at OMNI Tucson National on Saturday to move into a tie for fourth place. Oklahoma had three golfers inside the top 10 (two playing as individuals) sbut finished tied for ninth as a team.
The Cowboys wrapped up the 54-hole event with an 843 total ,tying Illinois at the par-72 7,200-yard layout. Arizona notched a one-shot victory after finishing at 24-under 840.
USC’s Jackson Rivera and Arizona’s Zach Pollo tied for first place at 13-under par 203.
Jonas Baumgartner fired a closing 66 to move into a tie for seventh place at 208. The junior opened with birdies over four of his first five holes before turning in 3-under 33. After a birdie at the 10th, he reeled off three more over holes 14-16 before coming home in 33 as well.
Fifth years Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Leo Oyo tied for 20th place at 213 after carding rounds of 71 and 68, respectively.
Junior Bo Jin posted his second consecutive 71 to finish at 214 and tied for 27th place.
Senior Hazen Newman’s closing 69 moved him into a tie for 52nd place at 218.
Competing individually, senior Dillon Stewart finished with a 69 to tie for 66th place at 221.
Leading the way for Oklahoma, Stephen Campbell Jr. (T4, -9) grabbed a fourth-place finish after carding a 66 (-6) in the final round of the 54-hole event, while Matthew Troutman, making his college debut at the NIT, tied fellow Sooner Ben Lorenz for 10th. As a team, Oklahoma (T9, -6) finished the day 1-over par, signing for a five-count-four score of 289 (+1) to drop into ninth. Freshman Jase Summy posted the low round of the OU lineup on Saturday, posting a 69 (-3) to move into a tie for 37th.
Playing unattached from the lineup, Campbell Jr. was strong all day after starting on the back nine. He posted three birdies and six pars before making the turn, where the redshirt sophomore caught fire, stringing four birdies over his next five holes to move into the top five. A bogey on the par-4 sixth hole was the only thing preventing a clean card, as Campbell Jr. finished the weekend in a tie for fourth.
Troutman (T10, -6), whose appearance in the NIT marked the first of his college career, held a share of the 36-hole lead Friday, but a 75 (+3) in the final round moved him into 10th. He shared the top-10 finish with Ben Lorenz (T10, -6), who also played as an individual this weekend. Troutman’s opening-round score of 64 Friday was the tournament’s lowest round and fifth-best in the event’s 20-year history.
Sophomore Drew Goodman (T37, -1) matched his teammate, Jase Summy, to share 38th at the event. Jake Holbrook finished 44th at even par but was unattached from the Sooners’ lineup. Patrick Welch (T66, +5) and Jaxon Dowell (T69, +6) rounded out the OU contingent.
The Sooners finished with 59 birdies, third-most in the field but strings of bogeys proved to be too much to overcome for head coach Ryan Hybl‘s team and Oklahoma finished last in the field in pars on the week.
Oklahoma next heads to San Francisco from March 30-April 1 for The Goodwin, hosted at historic Harding Park.
Team Scores
1. Arizona—282-279—279=840
2. Pepperdine—286-285-270=841
3. Arizona State—274-288280=842
T4. Illinois—280-285-278=843
T4. Oklahoma State—284-285-278=843
Individual Scores
T1. Zach Pollo, Arizona—70-65-68=203
T1. Jackson Rivera, Southern California—69-67-67=203
T7. Jonas Baumgartner, OSU—70-72-66=208
T20. Leo Oyo, OSU—75-70-68=213
T20. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, OSU—70-72-71=213
T27. Bo JIn, OSU—72-71-71=214
T52. Hazen Newman, OSU—72-77-69=218
T66. Dillon Stewart, OSU*—75-77-69=221