Fang, Stout have Cowboys on heels of ASU in Big 12 Championship at Southern Hills

TULSA, Okla. – For the first time perhaps since Viktor Holvand-Matthew Wolff-Austin Eckroat dream team rolled to the 2018 NCAA Championship, the Oklahoma State golf team is back as a legitimate national championship contender.

The third-ranked Cowboys entered the 2025 Big 12 Championship at Southern Hills on a roll of having won four tournaments this year including their previous two. Though they fell 12 shots behind Arizona State in the first round, the second round showed that potential that has coach Alan Bratton as optimistic as he’s been for quite some time.

Led by sophomore Ethan Fang’s 5-under 65, the lowest round ever shot by a Cowboy at Southern Hills, OSU pulled within four shots of Arizona State by shooting the only afternoon round under par, a 1-under 279. Preston Stout, the individual medalist in 2024 and one of the big reasons for Bratton’s optimism, was rock solid with a pair of even-par 70s.

“Preston is really coming on and that second round by Ethan shows what he is capable of,” Bratton said. “I really like our team. We keep getting better and that’s what you want this time of year.”

Bratton, who won the Big Eight Championship at Prairie Dunes as a freshman at OSU in 1992, knows what it takes to prevail over 72 holes at a difficult Perry Maxwell course. The Cowboys will tee off in the third round today beginning at 8:30 a.m. The tournament concludes with 18 holes Thursday. The tournament is free to attend with parking on site.

Fang shot up 54 spots in the standings after bouncing back from an opening 77 with a 65 during the afternoon. He stands at 142 and tied for sixth place. After his 7-over opening round, Fang started round two on the back nine and went bogey free with birdies at Nos. 14 and 15 to turn in 33. He would birdie three of the first four holes on the front nine and countered his lone bogey of the round at the fifth with a birdie at the sixth before coming home in 3-under 32.

Sophomore Eric Lee posted rounds of 71 and 73 to stand in a tie for 14th place at 144.

Also among the group at 144 was sophomore Gaven Lane, who signed for scores of 73 and 71.

Freshman Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson finished the day tied for 23rd place with a 146 total, which included rounds of 72 and 74.

The tournament has a different feel with so many new teams and the absence of Oklahoma and Texas. There is only one native Oklahoman in the field and that is William McDonald of Cincinnati, who bounced back with a second-round 69 after opening with a 74 and is tied for ninth at 3-over. McDonald won the Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Championship at Southern Hills in 2023, defeating current OU star Ryder Cowan in the finals, and said that experience certainly was beneficial Tuesday. His Bearcats were in sixth place after two rounds, 23 shots behind ASU.

The Cowboys will begin their third round Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. and will be grouped with Arizona State, TCU and Colorado. Live scoring is available at scoreboard.clippd.com.

Note: Fans who gathered on the hillside behind the diabolical ninth and 18th greens to watch the action were treated to carnage: 18 played as the most difficult hole at an average score of 4.71 with no birdies, 69 bogeys and 21 double bogeys or worse. The ninth was the third most difficult at 4.31 with 62 bogeys and seven doubles or worse.  Between the two holes there were 13 birdies and 160 bogeys or worse. See all the course stats here. 

Team Scores

1. Arizona State—277-284=561
2. Oklahoma State—286-279=565
3. TCU—297-283=580
4. Colorado—295-286=581
5. Houston—295-287=582
6. Cincinnati—290-294=584

T7. Kansas State—295-292=587

T7. BYU—291-296=587

T7. Texas Tech—299-288=587

T7. Arizona—299-288=587

11. Kansas—295-303=592
12. Utah—295-299=594
13. Baylor—300-301=601
14. West Virginia—302-300=602
15. Iowa State—306-297=603
16. UCF—298-305=603

Individual Scores

1. Connor Williams, ASU—70-66=136
2. Preston Stout, OSU—70-70=140

T6. Ethan Fang, OSU—77-65=142

T14. Gaven Lane, OSU—73-71=144

T14. Eric Lee, OSU—71-73=144

T23. Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson—72-74=146