Sooners climb into third, TU finishes 14th in Puerto Rico

With a three-round total of 1-over 865, the No. 21 Oklahoma men’s golf team took a share of third at the competitive Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, P.R. The three-day, 54-hole tournament was played at the 6,092-yard, par-72 River Course at the Rio Mar Beach Resort and Spa.

The Sooners carded a 4-under-par 284 on Tuesday, the second lowest score of the final round, against a 15-team field that featured nine times ranked within the top 50 of the latest Golfweek/Sagarin poll.

"We played a solid final round. I am proud of our effort all week, and it always feels nice to finish strong," sixth-year OU head coach Ryan Hybl said. "I saw some really good things this week, but we still have great opportunities in front of us to get better."

No. 40 Georgia claimed the team title with an 852 (-12), and No. 5 Georgia Tech finished as runner-up at 5-under par. OU tied with No. 9 Alabama for third place, while host school Purdue placed fourth with a 3-over 867. Tulsa placed 14th.

Grant Hirschman paced the Sooners, tying for seventh place out of 74 competitors with a 4-under-par 212. The freshman shot a bogey-free 69 (-3) for the final 18 holes to secure his second top-10 showing of the season.

Also finishing within the top 20 was senior Michael Gellerman, who tied for 19th with a three-round 217 (+1). The finish marks his fifth top-20 showing of the year and the 23rd of his OU career.

Sophomore Max McGreevy fired a 4-under-par 68, his season low in relation to par, in Tuesday’s final round. He started the day tied for 41st place but finished in a tie for 22nd place with a total of 218 (+2). McGreevy pocketed a team-high six birdies on the day.

Senior Charlie Saxon tied for 30th with a 54-hole 220 (+4), while junior Luke Kwon tied for 36th with a 7-over 223. Saxon and Kwon posted final-round scores of 73 (+1) and 75 (+3), respectively.

Competing in the nine-player individual tournament at the Ocean Course were junior Beau Titsworth and freshman Rylee Reinertson. Reinertson tied for fourth with a 223 (+10), and Titsworth took sixth with an 11-over-par 224.

The Sooners will return to the course March 9-11 for the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters in Las Vegas, Nev.

Tulsa’s Matt Mabrey finished in seventh place, three strokes behind the individual medalists, with a final score of 4-under par 212. 

On an 83-degree day with cloudy skies, Mabrey turned in his best round of the three-day tournament with a 5-under par 67. It was also the best round of the day for any of the 75 participants. The Tulsa senior shot 4-under par on the front nine with birdie putts on the 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th holes. He also birdied the par-4 13th and par-5 15th holes with his only bogey of the day coming at the par-4 16th, which was his first hole of the day in the shotgun start. 
As a team, Tulsa finished the final round with a score of 299 and completed the 54-hole tournament with a total score of 899.
 
Sebastian Smith carded a final round 78 and finished with a 13-over par 229 score to place 57th overall. Colton Staggs finished with a score of 232, followed by Matthew Marquez with a total of 233 after today’s round of 76, as the pair finished in 67th and 68th place, respectively. Francisco Yanez placed 71st overall with a score of 234.
 
Tulsa will be back in action next at the Tiger Invitational, March 8-10, in Opelika, Alabama.
 

Team Scores
1.        Georgia                                 280-281-291=852
2.        Georgia Tech                         292-274-293=859
T3.      Alabama                                285-297-283=865
T3.      Oklahoma                              291-290-284=865
5.        Purdue                                  298-284-285=867
6.        Clemson                               288-290-295=873
7.        Michigan                               296-288-290=874
8.        Virginia Tech                         287-300-290=877
9.        North Carolina                       301-290-290=881
T10.    UNC-Greenville                      298-294-297=889
T10.    NC State                               303-299-287=889
T10.    East Tennessee St.                  299-293-297=889
13.      Minnesota                             296-301-297=894
T14.    Tulsa                                    304-296-299=899
T14.    Nebraska                               296-302-301=899
 
Tulsa Individuals
T7.      Matt Mabrey                          71-74-67=212 (-4)
57.      Sebastian Smith                     81-70-78=229 (+13)
67.      Colton Staggs                        73-80-79=232 (+16)
T68.    Matthew Marquez                   79-78-76=233 (+17)
T71.    Francisco Yanez                      82-74-78=234 (+18)
 
Top-5 Individuals
T1.      Scott Vincent, Virginia Tech    67-74-68=209 (-7)
T1.      Dru Love, Alabama                 71-69-69=209 (-7)
3.        Billy Kennerly, Clemson         70-70-70=210 (-6)
T4.      Lee McCoy, Georgia               71-68-72=211 (-5)
T4.      Sepp Straka, Georgia               69-70-72=211 (-5)
 
OU Individuals
T7. Grant Hirschman                      69-74-69=212 (-4)
T19. Michael Gellerman                72-71-74=217 (+1)
T22. Max McGreevy                      76-74-68=218 (+2)
T30. Charlie Saxon                        74-73-73=220 (+4)
T37. Luke Kwon                            76-72-75=223 (+7)