Sooners down Cowboys for third at Big 12 Match Play Tournament
HOCKLEY, Texas — There was Bedlam at the Big 12 Match Play Tournament Wednesday, only not for the stakes that either team wanted.
No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Oklahoma State each lost their morning match to set up a match for third place rather than the championship, which wound up being Texas against Texas Tech. The Sooners jumped on the Cowboys early in this one and finished with a 5-1 victory.
The top-three placement marks the second consecutive season that Ryan Hybl’s squad finished with the bronze at the annual Big 12 fall championship. After falling to Texas Tech in a tightly-contested semifinal match, the No. 1 Sooners rebounded.
“Everyone had their moment this week,” Hybl said. “I’m excited about what we learned from our guys and the work we’ll be able to put in after a week like this. Anytime we can win a Bedlam match, that’s something for us to continue to build from and the guys got after it this afternoon.”
In the morning session, the Sooners were dispatched by eventual runner-up Texas Tech, 3-1-2, but three of the matches were either halved or decided by one hole. OU’s lone point of the match came from Logan McAllister, who scored early and often leading to a 7 and 6 win over Garrett Martin. Gotterup and Campbell Jr. both fell in their matches, but OU battled down the stretch. Jaxon Dowell and Patrick Welch fought for a point each, halving their matches, but Drew Goodman was knocked off by Andy Lopez on the 18th hole; 1-up, giving the match to the Red Raiders.
The Bedlam match started on the right foot for the Sooners, who got on the board early with a 4 and 3 win from Chris Gotterup and never looked back. Dowell delivered a victory over Aman Gupta, and Patrick Welch added a 4 and 3 decision over Dillon Stewart to guarantee the Sooners at least a point. Stephen Campbell Jr. secured a 3 and 2 win over senior Leo Oyo, and true freshman Drew Goodman posted the fifth point with a 2 and 1 result over Brian Stark to hand the Cowboys their only loss of the week.
The Sooners went 3-1-1 on the week with wins over No. 2 Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Kansas State. The team’s +38 hole differential was second-best as multiple Sooner golfers poured on dominating wins in different contests.
The Cowboys finished the event with a 2-1-2 mark after tying Texas, 3-3-0, to conclude pool play before falling to Oklahoma, 1-5-0, in the third-place match at the par-71, 7,007-yard layout.
During the morning session, Brian Stark took down Texas’ Travis Vick, 3 and 2, while Jonas Baumgartner defeated Will Thomson, 3 and 1. Aman Gupta provided the third team point for the Cowboys with a 1-up win over Cole Hammer.
The Longhorns countered with Parker Coody’s 1-up win over Eugenio Chacarra, while Pierceson Coody defeated Leo Oyo, 4 and 2. Mason Nome logged a 3-and-1 win over Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
With the tie, Texas advanced to the title match against Texas Tech.
Against the Sooners, Chacarra bounced back with a 7-and-5 win over Logan McAllister. With the victory, the Cowboy senior finished the event with a 4-1 mark.
Despite a 2-and-1 setback against Drew Goodman, Stark also finished the event at 4-1.
Individually for OU, Gotterup and Campbell Jr. led the way across the five matches as both posted 4-1 records. Logan McAllister improved to 13-4-1 all-time in match play with a 3-1-1 record at the par-71, 7,007-yard Club at Houston Oaks, while redshirt freshman Jaxon Dowell notched three victories in his first collegiate match-play event. All four of those Sooners finished +8-or-better in hole differential on the week, with Gotterup leading the team at +15.
The Sooners and Cowboys will both compete in the prestigious East Lake Cup in Atlanta, slated for Oct. 25-27.