Dougherty spurs Cowboys into lead at Royal Oaks Intercollegiate, Sooners in seventh

DALLAS, Texas — Through 36 holes of play, Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team built a six-shot lead on Monday at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate at Royal Oaks Country Club.

Playing a 6-count-5 format, the Cowboys, who entered play as the event’s defending champion, opened with a 15-under 340 during their morning round and followed with a 349 during the afternoon session.

OSU’s 21-under 689 total at the par-71, 7,068-yard layout put them six strokes clear of Stanford.

OSU’s Kevin Dougherty will take a four-shot lead into his final round after posting scores of 63 and 68 to wrap up the day at 11-under 131. The senior’s 8-under opening round was just one shot shy of tying the school’s 18-hole scoring record held by Morgan Hoffmann, Hunter Mahan and Jonathan Moore.

Dougherty started his day at the par-4 sixth with an eagle and used three birdies on his front side for an outward nine of 5-under 30. He added three birdies on his second nine to get in at 8-under for the round.

Dougherty’s second round was also bogey-free with his card consisting of three birdies and 15 pars.

Senior Ian Davis, the event’s defending individual champ, carded rounds of 69 and 68 to finish at 137 and tied for sixth place.

Redshirt freshman Wyndham Clark opened with a 66 before posting a 72 to come in tied for eighth at 138. Senior teammate Talor Gooch also finished at 138 after posting consecutive 69s.

Sophomore Jordan Niebrugge and freshman Zachary Olsen finished the day tied for 49th at 145. Both players opened with 73s before carding 72s during their second rounds.

The Cowboys will begin their third round Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. and will be grouped with Stanford and New Mexico.

Live scoring for the event is available at golfstat.com.  

The 12th-ranked Sooners are in seventh place after 36 holes at 4-under 706.

OU posted an even-par score of 355 in the first round, followed by a 4-under 351 for the second 18 holes. The Sooners sit 17 strokes behind leader and fifth-ranked Oklahoma State and seven strokes out of the top five.

“The boys did a great job today, but we just didn’t make enough putts,” OU head coach Ryan Hybl said. “We hit it good all day, and I was glad to see all six guys in the game the entire 36 holes. Tomorrow, we need to keep putting ourselves in good spots, and the putts will fall.” 
Leading the way for the Sooners is Michael Gellerman, who posted a two-round score of 140 (-2). The junior shot a 1-over 72 in the first round and a season-low 3-under 68 in the second. Gellerman, who is tied for 15th place, carded eight birdies on the day, including five on the second 18 holes.
 
Tied for 26th place with two-round scores of 141 (-2) are sophomore Beau Titsworth and senior Michael Schoolcraft. Both followed first-round even-par 71s with 1-under 70s. On the day, Schoolcraft shot seven birdies.
 
With a 142 (E), Charlie Saxon is tied for 33rd place. The junior shot a 3-under 68, matching his season best, and a 3-over 74 Monday. In the first round, Saxon, who started on hole No. 14, pocketed six birdies on the back nine.
 
Freshman Max McGreevy started the day with a 2-over 73 and then shot a 75 (+4) to bring his two-round total to 144 (+2). McGreevy currently shares 43rd place. Competing in his first team event of the season, senior Eduardo Castiello sits in a tie for 49th place and carded a 36-hole total of 145 (+5), with first and second round scores of 73 (+2) and 71 (E).