Reband lifts Sooners to win in Cabo Collegiate, Cowboys sixth
Garett Reband sunk a 5-foot putt on the 18th green at the par-72, 7,034-yard TPC San Antonio Oaks Course in the Cabo Collegiate on Wednesday afternoon to secure the second win of the season for the top-ranked Oklahoma men’s golf team. Oklahoma State closed strong with an 8-under final round to take sixth.
The Sooners (-4, 860) were able to hold off a late charge from No. 3 Florida State (-3, 861) in the final round to take home a one-stroke and wire-to-wire victory. OU carded a 10-under 278 on Wednesday, the second-lowest team score this season to defeat a field that featured nine ranked teams, including the top three in the country.
“Huge win for our team today, just a big-time three days for our guys and our program,” Ryan Hybl said after the win. “We were able to use a really strong opening day to build the lead and then held off an excellent field over the past two rounds.”
The win marks the 26th under Hybl, who came to Norman in 2009, and moves the Sooners’ streak of top-three finishes to six and top-five placements in 19 of their last 20 tournaments, dating back to 2018.
Reband, a first-team All-American, proved once again that he belongs near the top of the nation’s individual rankings, firing a 212 (-4) across 54 holes to finish in second. The York, S.C., product battled with Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett in the day’s final group, but a Bennett birdie on the 17th proved to be the difference.
The runner-up finish is the sixth top-five placement of Reband’s career and 21st top 20. He took an unplayable penalty on the 18th and had to sink a five-foot par-putt to deliver Oklahoma’s win.
“Reband was excellent for us, and he showed why he is a first team All-American,” Hybl said. “What the scorecard won’t show is how big his putt was on 18 and how it gave us the win. To have him back in our lineup and playing well is integral to what we want to achieve this spring.”
Jonathan Brightwell (-2, 214) carded a 67 (-5) on Wednesday to help bring the win home for Oklahoma. More impressively, his final round produced a clean card with five birdies and no bogeys to grab the 13th top-10 finish of his career.
“I spent most of the day walking with Brightwell, and the guy put together a really, really good round of golf,” Hybl said. “When he plays like he did today, he is one of the top golfers in the country, and he’ll be huge for our team as we get deeper into the season.”
18-hole leader Patrick Welch (-1, 215) closed his week in San Antonio with a 3-under 69, matching his opening-day score to finish alone in ninth place. His two rounds in the 60s this week were the 16th and 17th, respectively, of his career as the top-10 player nationally collected the sixth top-10 placement in 19 events.
Logan McAllister (+7, 223) carded a 74 (+2) on Wednesday to finish in 34th, while senior Quade Cummins (+10, 226) shot a 3-over 75 and finished T47.
The Sooners take a week away from competition before teeing it up again that George Hannon on March 15-16 at the UT Golf Club in Austin, Texas.
Oklahoma State posted a closing round of 280, its low round of the event. OSU finished at 14-over 878 and four shots behind Arizona State for fifth place.
OSU’s Austin Eckroat earned a top-five finish after posting a closing 69 to finish at 214. Eckroat, who was named to the U.S. Walker Cup squad earlier this week, made the turn at 1-over 37 after stringing together eight pars and a bogey on his outward nine. He would heat up on the back nine, with birdies at Nos. 12, 14, 16 and 18 for a 4-under 32 side.
Freshman Bo Jin fired the squad’s low round of the day, a 66, to join Eckroat in the top 10. Jin tied for 10thplace at 216. After carding five birdies on his front nine, he followed with a bogey-free 33 on the inward nine to finish at 6-under for the day.
Sophomore Eugenio Chacarra birdied four of his last five holes to shoot 69 and move into a tie for 26thplace at 220.
Sophomore Aman Gupta carded a 76 to finish at 229 and tied for 60th place, while freshman Brian Stark’s 79 tied him for 81st place at 237.
Freshman Hazen Newman competed individually and closed with a 73 to finish at 229 and tied for 60thplace.
The Cowboys will be back in action on March 15 when they travel to Austin, Texas to take part in the George Hannon Invitational.
Team Scores
1. Oklahoma—287-295-278=860
2. Florida State—298-287-276=861
3. Texas A&M—297-289-277=863
4. Texas Tech—306-295-271=872
6. Oklahoma State—299-299-280=878