Top-ranked Cowboys resume season in Hawaii

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii — Oklahoma State’s top-ranked men’s golf team will get its spring season underway on Thursday when it begins play at the Amer Ari Invitational at Waikoloa Kings Golf Course.

The Cowboys enter play as the event’s defending champion and have won the tournament seven times since its inception in 1991. Five Cowboys have claimed individual honors at the tournament with Jordan Niebrugge, Jonathan Moore, Tyler Leon, current head coach Alan Bratton and Craig Hainline all winning the tournament.

This year’s field will be comprised of 18 teams at the par-72, 7,074-yard layout. The tournament will be a 54-hole event contested over three days beginning at 7:30 a.m. (HST) each day.

Last year, the Cowboys cruised to a 17-shot victory at the event and four of OSU’s five starters finishing inside the top 10. Junior Viktor Hovland and sophomore Matthew Wolff led the way with matching totals of 204, 12-under par, to share second place.

The Cowboys starting five will consist of Hovland, Wolff, senior Hayden Wood, sophomore Austin Eckroat and senior Zach Bauchou. Junior Ferdinand Müller will compete individually.

Hovland and Wolff enter play fresh off starts on the PGA Tour. Hovland carded rounds of 73 and 72 at the Farmers Insurance Open two weeks ago, while Wolff posted a 3-under total of 281 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open this past week to tie for 50th place.

OSU will be looking to build on a fall campaign that saw the Cowboys win twice, emerging victorious at the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate. Wolff won three times during the fall campaign, including sharing medalist honors with Hovland at Royal Oaks.

Live scoring for the event will be available at golfstat.com.