Sooners finish third in Nike Golf Collegiate Invite
The No. 25 Oklahoma men’s golf team secured its best showing of the season as it took third place at the inaugural Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational in Fort Worth, Texas. The 54-hole, two-day event was played at the historic par-70, 7,204-yard Colonial Country Club.
Against the 12-team field, the Sooners tallied an 8-over-par 288 on Tuesday, bringing their three-round total to 860 (+20). OU finished Monday’s initial round in first place before slipping to fourth to end the day.
The tournament, also referred to as the Swoosh Invitational, featured some stout competition, with 10 teams ranked within the top 50 of the latest Golfweek/Sagarin poll, including six in the top 25. All participating schools are elite collegiate programs sponsored by Nike Golf.
No. 20 Oregon took the team title with an 851 (+11), its third victory in as many tournaments. No. 10 Stanford placed second at 17 over, No. 42 Washington finished fourth with an 862 (+22) and No. 29 Texas rounded out the top five with a 23-over 863. Oregon’s Thomas Lim was the individual winner at 8 under par.
Senior Michael Gellerman was the Sooners’ highest finisher, earning fifth place out of 60 competitors with a 209 (-1). It was the first time this season and the fifth time in his career that Gellerman has finished within the top five. For the final 18 holes, Gellerman carded an even-par 70. He pocketed a total of 10 birdies in the tournament.
Max McGreevy also placed within the top 10, claiming a share of ninth. McGreevy shot a 73 (+3) on Tuesday and a 215 (+5) for the event to secure his second top-10 showing of his sophomore campaign and fourth of his OU career.
After starting the day in 28th place, freshman Grant Hirschman fired an even-par 70, his best round of the week, and climbed 12 spots on the leaderboard to tie for 16th. Hirschman, who recorded a three-round 218 (+8), carded five birdies in the final round and 10 for the tournament.
With a 220 (+10), junior Luke Kwon finished in a tie for 22nd place. Kwon, competing in his second team event as a Sooner, posted a 7-over-par 77 in the final round. Junior Beau Titsworth tied for 56th with a 234 (+24) after shooting a 75 (+5) on Tuesday.
Sixth-year head coach Ryan Hybl said that overall his squad played well, but there are still areas in which improvement can be made.
“We had a chance today, and we just couldn’t quite get over the hump,” Hybl said. “Gellerman and Hirschman played really solid today, and our other guys hung in there. We need to continue to clean up our mistakes because our good golf has been pretty good at times.”
The Sooners will be back in action Oct. 27-28 for the final tournament of their fall slate, the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas.