Sooners, Cowboys struggle in Big 12 Championship
TRINITY, Texas — After two rounds at the Big 12 Championship, the 15th-ranked University of Oklahoma men’s golf team sits in fifth place while Oklahoma State is in sixth. The three-day, 72-hole tournament is being played at the par-72, 7,743-yard Whispering Pines Golf Club.
The Sooners struggled throughout the day, shooting a 17-over 593, 21 strokes off the lead. In the first round, OU recorded a 9-over 297, followed by a 296 (+8) for the second 18 holes.
Sitting atop the leaderboard is 18th-ranked Texas with a 572 (-4). No. 47 Iowa State and No. 52 TCU are tied for third with 16-over 592s.
Leading the way for the Sooners is Beau Titsworth, who fired a 145 (+1) for the first 36 holes. The sophomore opened with a 1-over 73 before carding an even-par 72, placing him in a tie for sixth, five strokes behind leader Esteban Restrepo of Texas Tech.
In the first round, Titsworth stumbled early, shooting bogeys on two of his first three holes. However, he was able to recover with par-or-better scores on 13 of his last 15 holes, including three birdies in a row on holes No. 12, 13 and 14. For the second 18 holes, he offset two bogeys with two birdies.
Tied for 13th place with 3-over-par 147s are junior Michael Gellerman and senior Michael Schoolcraft. Gellerman posted the biggest improvement for the Sooners between the two rounds, shooting a bogey-free 1-under 71 in the afternoon to counter a 76 (+4) first-round total. Schoolcraft followed his first-round 72 (E) with a 3-over 75.
With scores of 154 (+10), junior Charlie Saxon and freshman Max McGreevy share 36th place. Both shot a 76 (+4) and 78 (+6) in the first and second rounds, respectively.
"We started poorly this morning, which set the tone all day, but I am happy that Beau had a nice day, and Gellerman played well this afternoon," OU head coach Ryan Hybl said. "We need a really solid day tomorrow."
The third round of the Big 12 Championship is slated to begin at 8 a.m. CT on Saturday. The Sooners will be paired with TCU and Oklahoma State and tee off from hole No. 1 at 8:50 a.m. Live stats will be available at GolfStat.com.
Oklahoma State posted an 18-over total of 594 to stand in sixth place at Whispering Pines Golf Club.
The Cowboys’ 36-hole total put them a shot behind Oklahoma and two strokes behind Iowa State and TCU for third place.
Tech’s Esteban Restrepo carded rounds of 69 and 71 for a 4-under 140 total to lead by one.
A pair of Cowboys finished the day tied for eighth place with senior Ian Davis and freshman Zachary Olsen each carding 2-over 146 totals. Davis signed for rounds of 74 and 72, while Olsen posted a pair of 73s.
Senior Talor Gooch finished the day tied for 21st place at 150 after rounds of 74 and 76.
Sophomore Jordan Niebrugge carded scores of 74 and 78 for a 152 total, tying him for 28th place.
Redshirt freshman Wyndham Clark’s total of 155 came courtesy of a 75 and an 80 to tie him for 38th.
The Cowboys will begin their third round tomorrow at 8:50 a.m. and will be grouped with TCU and Oklahoma.