Hybl roots on former Sooners in first round of Compliance Solutions Championship

By Ken MacLeod

Leaderboard

NORMAN – University of Oklahoma golf coach Ryan Hybl bounced from one Sooner to the next like a proud parent, watching all eight of his former University of Oklahoma players with pride as they competed in the first round of the Compliance Solutions Championship at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course Thursday.

“It’s great to be outside the ropes and not have the pressure when you’re inside. I’m just enjoying watching and all these guys are great representatives of the university and our program,” Hybl said.

Making coach proud ❤️@OU_MGolf head coach Ryan Hybl comes out to @cschampgolf to greet one of his alums @lmcallister00. pic.twitter.com/e2rIQDVLAD

— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) June 20, 2023

The 72-hole new event on the Korn Ferry Tour brought out a lot of familiar faces and not just on the OU side. The flip side of the Bedlam rivalry had five former Oklahoma State Cowboys competing, led by Kristoffer Ventura, who led all players with state ties with a 5-under 67.

That placed him in a tie for 15th, three shots behind co-leaders Rafael Campos and Alan Wagner, who each shot 8-under 64. Three players shot 7 under and there six others at 6 under. The tournament has a $1 million purse with $180,000 going to the winner.

Patrick Welch, who finished competing for OU this spring and earned a spot on the Korn Ferry Tour through his finish on PGA Tour University, shot 3-under and was tied with former Sooners Grant Hirschman and Chris Gotterup along with former Cowboy Brendon Jelley, who played a bogey free round with three birdies.

Welch said he was just getting acclimated to setting his own practice and travel schedule after years of more regimented schedules balancing workouts, class work, practice and tournaments under Hyb at OU.

The majority of the players with Oklahoma ties were bunched from 2-under to even par and will need solid rounds Friday to ensure they make the 36-hole cut.

Rhein Gibson of Edmond and former Cowboy Zach Bauchou, who earned his spot with a top-25 performance last week, were each at 2-under. Former Sooner Quade Cummins and fellow Oak Tree National member Josh Creel each shot 1-under. Former Cowboy Kevin Dougherty showed off his OSU colors, looking like Rickie Fowler on a Sunday while shooting 1-under to match OU’s Logan McAllister and former Cowboy Bo Van Pelt of Tulsa.

Former Sooner Michael Gellerman shot even par, while Logan McCracken of Oklahoma City was at 2-over 74. Charlie Saxon of Tulsa and OU, who was given a sponsor’s exemption, shot 3-over. His caddie for the week is current Sooner Jaxon Dowell.

.

Hayden Wood of Edmond, who played his way in by winning the Monday qualifier at The Territory in Duncan, made the turn at 1-under but finished at 2 over.

Tournament Director Rod Addington said operationally the first day was a success and that the players coming off the course were raving about Jimmie Austin.

“I have heard more guys say this is the best course we’ve played in a while,” Addington said. “They just love it. It’s fair, the conditions are great and it’s no pitch-and-putt.”

While most of the field is trying to earn PGA Tour status for the first time, others like Gibson, Gellerman and Creel are trying to regain recently lost status, while Van Pelt, 48, is trying to stay sharp for competing on the  PGA Tour Champions circuit when he turns 50.

Van Pelt has missed the cut in all 13 events he’s played this year, including five on the PGA Tour and eight on the KFT. Yet after missing most of four seasons with injuries, he’s just grateful to be playing and was pleased with his ball striking Thursday.

“I have two daughters in college and another in boarding school,” he said. “I didn’t want to be sitting at home wondering, I love to play. And I think most of the guys who have success on PGA Tour Champions keep playing right up until they turn 50.”

Creel, who was a PGA Tour rookie in 2022 but lost his card, is just starting to hit his stride this year. He has made seven of 11 cuts coming in but ranked just 97^th with the top 30 earning PGA Tour cards for 2024. Still he remains confidenct he’ll make it back.

“I always seem to play poorly in the spring and then hit my stride in the summer,” Creel said. “So I’m confident I’ll make it back.”

McAllister is the highest ranked local player at 18. He made two late bogeys to come back from 3-under to finish at 1-under and was heading to the driving range to work on a balky driver swing, but otherwise said he could see himself jumping back into contention.

“I left a few out there,” he said. “I’m sure a lot of people can say the same. But overall I’m swinging well and think I can move up tomorrow.”

NOTES from Korn Ferry Tour on leaders

• Alan Wagner and Korn Ferry Tour winner Rafael Campos share the 18-hole lead with matching 8-under 64s
• Thursday marks the first 18-hole lead / co-lead on Tour for both Wagner and Campos
• The last 18-hole leader/co-leader to win on the Korn Ferry Tour was David Lingmerth/2022 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship (16 events ago)
• 18-year-old sponsor exemption Aldrich Potgieter opens with 5-under 67 and stands T15 in his Korn Ferry Tour debut
• There are 31 players within three strokes of the lead, and 44 players within four strokes of the lead
• Second-round tee times will run from 6:45 a.m. through 2:54 p.m. local time off the first and 10th tees

First-Round Lead Notes

First-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2023 (last: David Lingmerth/2022 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship)

Charting the Leader (stats entering the week)

Rafael Campos (T1/-8)

• Making 123rd career start in sixth season on the Korn Ferry Tour, opens with 8-under 64 for his first 18-lead / co-lead on Tour
• Starting on No. 10, holes out for eagle at par-4 11th and tallies seven birdies, including a streak of four in a row (Nos. 14, 16, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8) against one bogey at the par-3 12th
• In 13 starts this season, made eight cuts and recorded five top-25s, highlighted by top-10s at the HomeTown Lenders Championship (T7) and Visit Knoxville Open (T4)
• Earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time ahead of 2016 season via a T34 at Final Stage of the 2015 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament
• Won the 2019 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club and posted six top-25s en route to finishing No. 18 on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Points List and earning his first PGA TOUR card
• Played two seasons on the PGA TOUR (2019-20, 2020-21) and finished 151st in the 2020-2021 FedExCup standings
• Turned professional out of Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011

Alan Wagner (T1/-8)

• Making 20th career start in second season as a Korn Ferry Tour member, holds his first 18-hole lead / co-lead
• Cards two eagles at the par-5 fifth and eighth, along with five birdies (Nos. 2, 3, 6, 12, 13) against one bogey at the par-4 fourth for 8-under 64
• Five made cuts in 14 starts this season included a career-high T17 at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club
• 33-year-old native of Buenos Aires, Argentina earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time via 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School, but finished T126 at Final Stage, leaving him without guaranteed starts for the 2020-21 season
• Played primarily on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2022, earning his only PGA TOUR-sanctioned win at the 2022 Scotia Wealth Management Chile Open presented by Volvo, propelling him to No. 6 finish in the 2022 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Totalplay Cup, earning him membership for the 2023 season
• Finished T17 at Final Stage of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament to earn guaranteed starts for the first eight events of the season

Quotables

Rafael Campos on his round… “I was really happy with the day, thought I hit the ball very well. It’s extremely important here to hit it well off the tee box. If you hit fairways, you can score. I was fortunate to be able to do that. Honestly, I hit the ball well enough where it was actually very comfortable and easy today. I think I only had two bad swings and the putter was hot. You know, we probably left a couple out there, but at the same time we made a couple of long putts where those are bonuses, so I can’t really complain. Really happy with the score today. It’s not often I start off on the right foot. Trying to savor the moment.”

Rafael Campos on how he would assess his 2023 season thus far… “Trending. Man, I feel great physically. I see the consistency more now and I know ‑ I‑ knew it was going to come. Apart from a couple top10s, there’s been like three occasions I’ve‑ been top10 coming into the last day and kind of don’t really seal the deal or play well. Either way, a lot of positives. ‑I really do feel that I’m getting really close. I’m starting to see the consistency; I’m starting to be a little more aggressive on the golf course knowing I’m able to pull the shots out.

“Hopefully, this is the year. I really want to go back to the PGA TOUR and I think I’m slowly moving into the right direction. I definitely need a win or solo second to kind of put myself in a better spot mentally. It will come, I really think it will come, I’ve just got to give myself some chances and hopefully the putter stays hot for, I don’t know, four months.”

Alan Wagner on how his game feels now versus the beginning of the season … “I think it’s more about the patience and the attitude on the course. At the beginning of this season I was trying to go like very, how can I say it, very aggressive with it and it didn’t work. Now I think I’m playing better strategy-wise. I think it’s a mix of both. I’ve been hitting the ball really well and today I make a lot of putts, so that’s the difference. Yeah, I’m learning how to play here with you guys and I think I will figure it out soon.”

Alan Wagner on his round … “It was great, yeah. It’s a great start for the tournament. I’ve been hitting it well the last few weeks, so today I took advantage of those chances. I played a really good, solid round, so I’m very happy.”

Notes

• Rico Hoey (T3 / -7) sits inside the top five through 18 holes for the third time this season (T3/Visit Knoxville Open/ Won; T5/The Panama Championship/finished T8)
• Jacob Solomon (T3 / -7) cards bogey-free 7-under 65 to sit inside the top five for the fourth time this season; he made his first PGA TOUR start last week at the U.S. Open (finished T60)
• Thomas Walsh (T3 / -7) holds his best 18-hole position of the season (previous: T4/HomeTown Lenders Championship/finished T61)
• Rookie Mitchell Meissner (T6 / -6) holds career-high 18-hole position (previous: T28/The Panama Championship/missed cut)
• Four-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Ben Kohles (T5 / -6) is bidding to secure his third win of the 2023 season and earn an automatic promotion to the PGA TOUR; he sits inside the top 10 after 18 holes for the second consecutive start (T7/BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX/finished T31)
• Making his third Korn Ferry Tour start, William Mouw (T15/-5), who finished No. 6 in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking, cards a field-leading nine birdies Thursday’s opening round