Sands shoots historic 59 to move into contention in Oklahoma Open

Complete scoring and pairings:

Max McGreevy moved into position to win his third Oklahoma Open with a second consecutive 65 Friday, but all eyes were on another young man from Edmond as Edmond North’s Parker Sands fired an historic 59 to shatter the course and tournament record and move to within one shot of the lead at 9-under par.

Sands opened with a 2-over 72 on Thursday, but the rising senior blitzed Oak Tree East with a 29 playing the back nine first and followed it up with a 30 on the front nine.

Sands started his round with a birdie, made an eagle on the par-5 12th hole (his third), then birdied 13, 15 and 16 to reach 6-under par through seven holes. He then made five consecutive pars before making another eagle on the par-5 fourth hole and followed that up with birdies on the next three holes to reach 11 under.

His 59 shattered  the previous record of 61 shot by John Bizik in 1997 and equaled by McGreevy in 2017 en route to his first Oklahoma Open victory.

“I was driving it great, my wedges were close and I was locked in with the putter,” said Sands, who has verbally committed to the University of Florida. “Most of the birdie putts were in the 10-12 feet or less. ”

Sands attended the Edmond North football game Friday night after his record round and was toasted by his fellow students.

“It was great to get the love from everybody,” Sands said. “It’s something I’ll always remember.”

McGreevy, now on his second stint as a PGA Tour member, is tied at 10-under with his former University of Oklahoma teammate Blaine Hale (64-66) of Dallas and amateur Presten Richardson (66-64) of Mount Vernon, Mo.

Tied with Sands at 9-under are Zach James (66-65) of Sherman, Texas, and James Ross of Spring, Texas. Three other Texans are at 8-under including Brian Cohoe of Farmers Branch, Tanner Gore of Farmers Branch and first-round leader Bryan Dyer of Southlake, who followed up his opening 62 with an even-par 70.

Among the four golfers lurking three shots back is PGA Tour rookie Austin Eckroat of Edmond, who also attended Edmond North.

Sands opened his second round with three consecutive pars before making eagle on the par-5 fourth hole. He then reeled off three birdies in succession before making pars on holes 8 and 9. He started the back nine with a birdie on 10, made eagle on the par-5 12th, then birdied three of the next four.

Sands has exhibited a proclivity to making birdies in bunches in his junior career. He set an Oklahoma Junior Golf Tour scoring record of 16-under by winning the Lake Hefner Shootout with consecutive rounds of 64. He shot an opening round of 65 in the AJGA’s Talor Gooch Foundation Championship at Gaillardia Country Club this summer. But the 59 was as hot as Friday’s temperatures which reached 105 degrees.

The field was cut to the low 40 and ties for the final round. The winner will receive $10,000, if a professional.

109th OGA Oklahoma Open
Thursday, August 24, 2023 – Saturday, August 26, 2023
Edmond, Oak Tree CC (East)

Blaine Hale, Dallas, TX – 64-66–130
Max McGreevy, Edmond, OK – 65-65–130
Presten Richardson, (a), Mount Vernon, MO – 66-64–130
Zach James, Sherman, TX – 66-65–131
James Ross, Spring, TX – 65-66–131
Parker Sands, (a), Edmond, OK – 72-59–131
Brian Choe, Farmers Branch, TX – 65-67–132
Brian Dwyer, Southlake, TX – 62-70–132
Tanner Gore, Farmers Branch, TX – 67-65–132
Philip Barbaree, Shreveport, LA – 64-69–133
Tyler Collet, Vero Beach, FL – 65-68–133
Austin Eckroat, Edmond, OK – 66-67–133
Preston Stanley, Katy, TX – 65-68–133
Trey Winstead, Baton Rouge, LA – 65-68–133
Carson Griggs, Sand Springs, OK – 69-65–134
Christian Jalomo, Richmond, TX – 69-65–134
Luke Long, Fayetteville, AR – 66-68–134
Blake Lorenz, (a), Norman, OK – 66-68–134
Andrew Presley, Fort Worth, TX – 65-69–134
Matt Gilchrest, Grapevine, TX – 68-67–135
Rob Hudson, Fayetteville, AR – 69-66–135
Theodore Humphrey, Dallas, TX – 66-69–135
Matt Mabrey, Sand Springs, OK – 67-68–135
Alejandro Armijo, Rio Rancho, NM – 69-67–136
Matthew Braley, Broken Arrow, OK – 66-70–136
Jonathan Brightwell, Edmond, OK – 70-66–136
Matt Echelmeier, Columbia, MO – 73-63–136
Josh Fosdick, Edmond, OK – 69-67–136
Wil Gibson, Jonesboro, AR – 67-69–136
Adam House, Rockwall, TX – 67-69–136
Austin Schmidt, (a), Bixby, OK – 66-70–136
Blake Abercrombie, Dallas, TX – 68-69–137
Andrew Beckler, Topeka, KS – 72-65–137
Phillip Bryan, (a), Mustang, OK – 66-71–137
Jackson Drake, (a), Lubbock, TX – 69-68–137
Caleb Hicks, Arlington, TX – 65-72–137
Brandon Hoff, Austin, TX – 67-70–137
Alejandro Santibanez San Antonio, TX – 72-65–137
Charlie Saxon, Tulsa, OK – 69-68–137
Connor Black, Houston, TX – 68-70–138
Skyler Finnell, Rancho Santa Fe, CA – 70-68–138
Jack Ireland Spring, TX – 68-70–138
Evan Knight, Novato, CA – 65-73–138
Callum Mcneill, Hockley, TX – 69-69–138
Jared Strathe, Owasso, OK – 70-68–138
Lane Wallace, Yukon, OK – 70-68–138
Junho Won, Dallas, TX – 69-69–138
Hayden Wood, Edmond, OK – 67-71–138
—–Failed to Qualify——-
Andres Brictson, Edmond, OK – 68-71–139
Grant Brown, Lawton, OK – 71-68–139
Casey Fernandez, Kingston, OK – 71-68–139
Evan Griffith, (a), Edmond, OK – 69-70–139
Franklin Huang, Broomfield, CO – 70-69–139
Jake Mccrory, Deer Park, TX – 71-68–139
Tate Oakley, Whitesboro, TX – 71-68–139
Austin Wylie, Fair Oaks Ranch, TX – 69-70–139
Cyril Bouniol, Willow Park, TX – 72-68–140
Delbert Brooks, (a), Tulsa, OK – 69-71–140
Derek Chang, Dallas, TX – 70-70–140
Eric Denton, Purcell, OK – 72-68–140
Luke Gannon, Monticello, IL – 71-69–140
Andrew Hudson, Fort Worth, TX – 69-71–140
Scott Newton, Austin, TX – 68-72–140
Oskari Nikku, (a), Edmond, OK – 71-69–140
Trevor Norby, Sulphur Springs, TX – 70-70–140
Wells Padgett, Wichita, KS – 74-66–140
Tyson Reeder, Edmond, OK – 75-65–140
Matt Sparks, Owasso, OK – 69-71–140
Tyler Uhlig, Magnolia, TX – 71-69–140
Ian Barnes, Warrensburg, MO – 70-71–141
William Hocker, Trophy Club, TX – 71-70–141
Zachary Olsen, Memphis, TN – 71-70–141
Brock Polhill, Edmond, OK – 68-73–141
Garrison Smith, Mansfield, TX – 72-69–141
Dominic Stevens, Crescent, OK – 70-71–141
Carson Wright, (a), Norman, OK – 68-73–141
Sumin Yu, Richardson, TX – 72-69–141
Hunter Bettis, Leander, TX – 72-70–142
Zach Burry, Appleton, WI – 71-71–142
Denver Davis, Fayetteville, AR – 74-68–142
Ryan Grider, Lewisville, TX – 73-69–142
Kyle Hudelson, (a), Oklahoma City, OK – 68-74–142
Graham Hutchinson, Celina, TX – 69-73–142
Alberto Ruiz Nava, Oklahoma City, OK – 76-66–142
Bryce Waters, Rockwall, TX – 72-70–142
Nick Costello, Austin, TX – 75-68–143
Paul Gonzalez, Waxahachie, TX – 72-71–143
Clayton Keck, Blanchard, OK – 72-71–143
Emerson Majma, (a), Edmond, OK – 73-70–143
Scott Newell, Tulsa, OK – 71-72–143
Rocco Repetto Taylor, (a), Fuengirola, Spain, – 74-69–143
Graham Veile, Las Cruces, NM – 67-76–143
Conrad Walcher, (a), Edmond, OK – 72-71–143
Kevin An, (a), Riverside, CA – 71-73–144
Pryce Beshoory, Pearland, TX – 70-74–144
Jake Ezell, Austin, TX – 72-72–144
Philip Voetmann, (a), – 70-74–144
Preston Albee, (a), Choctaw, OK – 76-69–145
Mason Holliday, Melissa, TX – 77-68–145
Ty Hyatt (a), Stillwater, OK – 73-72–145
Jake Livermore, Frisco, TX – 66-79–145
Griffen Locke, Joplin, MO – 78-67–145
Travis England, The Colony, TX – 72-74–146
Charlie Flynn, Alexandria, LA – 74-72–146
Kyle Hickey, (a), Rochester, MN – 73-73–146
Christian Johnson, (a), Oklahoma City, OK – 75-71–146
Brooksie Levonitis, (a), Oklahoma City, OK – 74-72–146
Jackson Markham, Dallas, TX – 79-67–146
Chase Maus, Manor, TX – 74-72–146
Adam Miller, Asbury, IA – 73-73–146
Ethan Parker, (a), Austin, TX – 75-71–146
Trevor Bailey, New Braunfels, TX – 77-70–147
Cameron Bishop, Wichita, KS – 72-75–147
Gustav Liljeberg, (a), – 72-75–147
Said Powers, (a), Edmond, OK – 69-78–147
Christopher Reinert, Parkville, MO – 73-74–147
Hunter Robinson, Coppell, TX – 75-72–147
Nick Scheib, Dallas, TX – 74-73–147
Cameron Cheek, (a), Owasso, OK – 73-75–148
Jacob Grellner, Cushing, OK – 77-71–148
Kyle Willmann, Wellston, OK – 76-72–148
Hunter Baumann, (a), Edmond, OK – 76-73–149
Stephen Grimes (a), Edmond, OK – 75-74–149
Riley Harris, (a), Bowie, TX – 74-75–149
Peyton Knell, Oklahoma City, OK – 75-74–149
Christian McAllister, Guthrie, OK – 73-76–149
Jacob Rains, Granbury, TX – 73-77–150
Juan Rodriguez, Franklin, MA – 73-77–150
Jay Smith, (a), Edmond, OK – 74-76–150
Brandon Stewart, Edmond, OK – 77-73–150
Mike Biata, Owasso, OK – 70-81–151
Roberto Espinosa, Hockley, TX – 76-75–151
Nolan Sanchez Fort Worth, TX – 74-78–152
Nick Heinen, Edmond, OK – 76-77–153
Bradley Jumper, Afton, OK – 76-78–154
Jerry Miller, Oklahoma City, OK – 77-77–154
Quinn Robertson, (a), Norman, OK – 82-74–156
Tucker McDonald, (a), Frisco, TX – 78-79–157
Blaine Simpson, Edmond, OK – 74-83–157
Chad Barney, Ponca City, OK – 75-83–158
Adam Henderson, (a), Edmond, OK – 85-75–160
Heath Webb, Yukon, OK – 82-78–160
Tyler Jones, Denton, TX – 79-82–161
Patrick Vahabzadegan, (a), Oklahoma City, OK – 80-84–164
Ben Strong, Kingwood, TX – 69-WD–69
Luke Phillips, (a), Edmond, OK – 70-NC–70
Bo Tisdal, Weatherford, OK – 80-NS–80
Conner Compton (a), Oklahoma City, OK – 81-WD–81
Mark Monroe, Springfield, MO – 84-WD–84