Sooners lead, Cowboys tied for 14th in first round of NCAA Championship

CARLSBAD, Calif. – For the first time since 1987, Oklahoma men’s golf leads the NCAA Championships after 18 holes. Oklahoma State was in a tie for 14th following the first round Friday. Second-round action is under way Saturday and live scoring is here.

The sixth-ranked Sooners (1, -8) carded a 280 in Friday’s opening round at the par-72 North Course at Omni La Costa, taking a five-shot lead into Saturday’s second round. Head coach Ryan Hybl’s squad is making its 14th consecutive appearance at the championships.

The NCAA Championships include 72 holes of stroke play, with the 30-team field cut to 15 after 54 holes. Monday’s final round determines the top eight teams advancing to match play, and the individual champion is crowned. Match play on Tuesday and Wednesday will decide the team national champion.

Oklahoma teed off in the afternoon and set the tone early with a birdie from PJ Maybank III on the first hole. The team’s four counting scores – Clark Van Gaalen, Jase Summy, Drew Goodman and Ryder Cowan – went 7-under on the front nine and built a 12-under mark thru 12 holes. Despite a tough closing stretch, the Sooners posted an 8-under total, securing their first opening-round lead at NCAAs in 38 years.

Three Sooners sit in the top 20z True freshman Clark Van Gaalen (T4, -4) led the way with a 68, collecting five birdies and just one bogey thru his first 10 holes. The Turlock, Calif., product parred his final eight and trails the individual lead by two strokes.

Jase Summy (T12, -3), an All-SEC first-team pick, tallied a team-high six birdies en route to a 69 (-3) to jump into a share for 11th. Drew Goodman (T16, -2), playing in his final college tournament, sunk five birdies and carded a 70 (-2).

Ryder Cowan (T47, +1) and PJ Maybank III (T79, +3) rounded out Oklahoma’s day in the 155-player field.

OU is chasing its third national title (1989, 2017) and aiming to return to match play for the first time since 2022. The Sooners currently sit 13 shots clear of the 54-hole cut and nine ahead of the match play threshold.

Oklahoma State posted a 5-over 293 to stand in a tie for 14th place. The second-ranked Cowboys finished the day in a five-way tie and will begin their second round four shots outside of the top 10.

Sophomore Preston Stout led the way for OSU individually, posting a 1-under 71 to come in tied for 25th place. Starting on the back nine, Stout bogeyed two of his first five holes before carding birdies at the 15th and 18th to get back to even for the day. He would sandwich a bogey at the third with birdies at the second and fourth to stand at 1-under for the day with five to play. 

Stout posted his fifth birdie of the day at the sixth before carding a bogey at the seventh on his way to a 1-under 35 on his second nine of the day.

Sophomore Ethan Fang also posted five birdies during his round before ultimately signing for a 1-over 73 to share 47th place.

Sophomore Eric Lee’s 74 tied him for 63rd place.

Freshman Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson and sophomore Gaven Lane each signed for 3-over 75s to finish the day tied for 79th place.

Top 15 Team Scores

1. Oklahoma—280

T2. Florida State—285

T2. Florida—285

T2. Texas—285

T5. Arizona State—286

T5. Auburn—286

T5. Illinois—286

T8. BYU—289

T8. Colorado—289

T8. California—289

11. Georgia—291

T12. Texas Tech—292

T12. Troy—292

T14. Oklahoma State—293

T14. USF—293

T14. Georgia Tech—293

T14. Ole Miss—293

T14. Pepperdine—293

Oklahoma tees off at 8:52 a.m. CT on Saturday. Live scoring is available on Clippd.