Sooners tied for eighth in Southern Highlands Collegiate

NORMAN – The No. 8 Oklahoma men’s golf team is tied for eighth place after the opening round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is being played at the par-72, 7,374-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas.

The Sooners recorded a 293 (+5) on Monday in the opening round against an elite field, which features seven teams ranked in the top 25 of the latest GolfStat rankings. OU heads into Tuesday’s round tied for eighth with No. 19 USC and Washington.

No. 5 Florida leads the field after shooting 282 (-6) on Monday. Host UNLV has sole possession of second place, posting a 285 (-3), while TCU is two shots back of the Rebels in third place at 287 (-1). Pepperdine sits in fourth with a 288 (E) and No. 4 Alabama, No. 14 Illinois and No. 21 UCLA are tied fifth at 290 (+2).

Junior Brad Dalke paced the Sooners in the first round, posting a 71 (-1). Dalke pocketed seven birdies during his round and heads into Tuesday’s second round tied for 15th place.

Senior Grant Hirschman is one stroke behind Dalke, recording a 72 (E) in the opening 18 holes. Hirschman, who tied for first at the Southern Highlands Collegiate last season, is tied for 23rd place.

Redshirt sophomore Thomas Johnson shares 33rd place after recording a 74 (+1) in the first round. Johnson bookended his round with birdies as he competes in his second team event of the spring season.

Redshirt sophomore Quade Cummins carded a 77 (+5) on Monday and is tied for 54th. Sophomore Garett Reband tallied a 78 (+6) and holds a share of 65th place.

The second round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate is scheduled for Tuesday. The Sooners will begin at 9 a.m. CT from hole No. 1 and are paired with Alabama and USC.

Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com<http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=13476>.