Hovland named Big 12 Player of the Year, five other Cowboys, Sooners honored
IRVING, Texas — Oklahoma State’s men’s golf team earned an impressive haul of all-conference honors with the announcement of the All-Big 12 team on Monday by the league office.
Headlining the list of honorees was junior Viktor Hovland, who was named the league’s player of the year. Hovland became the 12th Cowboy to garner the award and the program’s first since 2014. A first-team All-American, Hovland won three times this past season and had runner-up showings at the Big 12 Championship and the NCAA Louisville Regional.
A native of Oslo, Norway, Hovland was named the Ben Hogan Award winner and earned the Silver Cup as the Low Amateur at The Masters this past season. He joins a list of Cowboys to be named the Big 12’s top player that includes Leif Westerberg (1997), Charles Howell (2000), Anders Hultman (2001), Hunter Mahan (2002, 2003), Pablo Martin (2006, 2007), Rickie Fowler (2008), Morgan Hoffmann (2009), Peter Uilhlein (2011) and Wyndham Clark (2014).
For the first time since taking the helm of the Cowboy program in 2013, head coach Alan Bratton was named the league’s coach of the year. This past season, Bratton led the top-ranked Cowboys to six victories, including the program’s first league crown since 2011.
Hovland was joined on the All-Big 12 squad by a trio of teammates.
Senior Zach Bauchou was named the to squad after posting three top 10s on the year, including a runner-up showing at the Amer Ari Invitational. The Forest, Va., native closed his career with an eighth-place showing at the NCAA Championship.
Austin Eckroat was named an all-league selection after putting together a sophomore campaign that included six top 10s. The Edmond, Okla., native was victorious at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and also tied for eighth place at the NCAA Championship to close out the year.
Matthew Wolff was honored after setting a school record with six victories, including four consecutive in full-field events, and earning first-team All-America status. The Agoura Hills, Calif., native closed the year by becoming the ninth player in program history to capture the NCAA individual title, finishing five shots clear of the field.
The All-Big 12 team was identified using the highest-ranked golfers according to the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings following the Big 12 Championship, and the team increased to 11 individuals this season to include the medalist of the championship. Reband finished ranked No. 37 nationally, while Casey was No. 39.
Casey finished with a stroke average of 70.35 and competed in eight team events. The junior earned three top-5 and four top-10 finishes.
Reband competed in 12 events and recorded a stroke average of 72.69. The junior picked up four top-10 finishes and placed in the top 20 seven times.
Oklahoma advanced to match play at the NCAA Championships for the fourth straight season. The Sooners have played in the NCAA Championships in each of the last nine years, the third-best active streak in the country.