Top-ranked Sooners to defend home turf in Norman Regional

NORMAN — For the 11th straight season, the Oklahoma men’s golf team is playing postseason golf. The nation’s No. 1 overall seed, Oklahoma hosts an NCAA Regional at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club for the first time since 2018.

Play is slated for May 16-18 with 13 of the nation’s top teams arriving in Norman for 54 holes of play. Following three rounds, the field’s top-five teams will advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club May 27-June 1.

The Sooners are the nation’s No. 1 overall seed for the second consecutive season and are one of the nation’s six top-seeded teams for the fourth straight year. Oklahoma is the consensus No. 1 team, appearing atop the Golfweek/Sagarin, Golfstat and GCAA polls. A pair of Sooners appear in Golfstat’s top five, as No. 1 Chris Gotterup and No. 4 Logan McAllister lead head coach Ryan Hybl’s team as co-captains.

Oklahoma has won six events this year, including the program’s 18th conference championship. The team’s five wins in the regular season tied the 1989 (NCAA champion) and 2021 (NCAA runner-up) teams for the most in program history. A win at the Norman Regional would match the 1989 national championship team for the most overall team wins in a single Oklahoma season with seven.

Under Hybl, Oklahoma has advanced to 10 consecutive NCAA Championships and is the only program in the country to appear in the last five NCAA Match Play quarterfinals.

The OU lineup is anchored by its trio of All-American seniors in Gotterup, McAllister and Patrick Welch. The three have combined for nine career wins and 44 top-10 finishes in their collegiate careers. All three sit inside the school’s record book for single-season scoring average in 2021-22. McAllister holds the program record for career scoring average (70.99) and score vs. par (-0.44), while Welch is fourth all-time at 71.65 (0.20). McAllister’s 70.99 career mark is the 12th lowest in NCAA history. True freshman Drew Goodman and redshirt freshman Stephen Campbell Jr., round out the Crimson and Cream lineup, with Jaxon Dowell serving as the designated substitute.

Oklahoma is the winner of five NCAA Regionals in school history, including the 2018 NCAA Regional at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, paired with titles in 1989, 1995, 2001 and 2015. Most recently, the Sooners finished fourth at the 2021 NCAA Albuquerque Regional and advanced to their 11th consecutive NCAA Championship.

The event is free of charge and spectators are welcome.

THE FIELD WITH GOLFSTAT RANKING

(1) No. 1 Oklahoma – Big 12 Champion

(2) No. 7 Texas

(3) No. 18 Auburn

(4) No. 24 South Carolina

(5) No. 26 Ole Miss

(6) No. 36 Louisville

(7) No. 37 Missouri

(8) No. 50 San Diego State – Mountain West Champion

(9) No. 49 Utah

(10) No. 63 Kent State – MAC Champion

(11) No. 64 Kansas State

(12) No. 186 UT Martin – OVC Champion

(13) No. 247 Rider – MAAC Champion

OU LINEUP

Chris Gotterup, R-SR, Little Silver, N.J.

Transferred to Oklahoma from Rutgers for final season … 2020 All-American … 2020 Big Ten Player of the Year … 2022 Big 12 All-Tournament Team as conference runner-up … Finalist for Haskins Award … First NCAA Regional … Posted eight top-10 finishes in 2021-22, including a win at the East Lake Cup and Puerto Rico Classic … 69.71 scoring average this season is third lowest in program history … Score vs. par of -1.96 in 21-22 is third best in OU history … Made professional debut at Puerto Rico Open on PGA Tour, finishing T7 … 14 rounds in 60s in 21-22 … Low round at Jimmie Austin is 64.

RANK: Golfstat – 1 | Golfweek/Sagarin – 2 | WAGR – 29 | PGA Tour U – 9

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Logan McAllister, SR, Oklahoma City, Okla.

2021 All-American … 2022 Big 12 All-Tournament Team … Finalist for Haskins Award … Second NCAA Regional (T32 in 2021) … Hasn’t finished outside top 20 all season … School record 70.99 (-0.44) career scoring average … Four career medalist honors are second most in OU history … 69.84 (-1.80) scoring average this season is fourth lowest in OU history … In career: 19 top 20s, 11 top 10s, four wins, 31 rounds in the 60s … Made pro debut this spring at the Valero Texas Open … Low round at Jimmie Austin is 61.

RANK: Golfstat – 4 | Golfweek/Sagarin – 13 | WAGR – 14 | PGA Tour U – 3

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Patrick Welch, SR, Aliso Viejo, Calif.

Third NCAA Regional … Two-time All-American (2019 and 2021) … 2022 Big 12 All-Tournament Team … Two career wins, including one at Southern Highlands this season … Scoring average of 71.30 (-0.37)  in 2021-22 is 10th best in school history … Owns school record for low round of 62 (-10) at Puerto Rico Classic … Career average of 71.65 is fourth among all Sooners historically … Swings crosshanded … Low round at Jimmie Austin is 60 … Won the 2014 Drive, Chip and Putt championship at Augusta … Returning to OU next year.

RANK: Golfstat – 68 | Golfweek/Sagarin – 61 | WAGR – 70 | PGA Tour U: WD

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Drew Goodman, FR, Norman, Okla.

First NCAA Regional … No. 5 freshman in the country … Played in all 11 events for the Sooners this season … Eight top-20 finishes with three top 10s … 10 rounds in the 60s in 2021-22 are third most on roster … Posted a runner-up finish at Southern Highlands by signing for a OU freshman record 205 (-11) … Two-time AJGA All-American … Medalist of 2018 Under Armour Jordan Spieth Championship … No. 16 recruit in 2021 class per Golfweek and No. 1 in state of Oklahoma … In line to break Patrick Welch’s freshman scoring record vs. par of -0.10.

RANK: Golfstat – 52 | Golfweek/Sagarin – 85 | WAGR – 200

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Stephen Campbell Jr., R-FR, Richmond, Texas

First NCAA Regional … Played in 10 events for OU in first season in lineup … Posted season-best finish of T5 at the East Lake Cup … Enters postseason off back-to-back top-20 placements at Thunderbird Collegiate and Big 12 Championship … Five rounds in the 60s … Won 2019 TAPPS 5A State Championship and set state scoring record (131 … Represented Team USA at the 2019 Junior President’s Cup … Finished in top 10 at the 2020 Dustin Johnson Junior World Championship … Mom, Elissa, played basketball at Oklahoma.

RANK: Golfstat – 165 | Golfweek/Sagarin – 156 | WAGR – 387

THE COURSE

The Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club was designed and built by native Oklahoman Perry Maxwell in the early 1950s before being reworked by Bob Cupp in 1996 and then Tripp Davis in 2017. The course, situated initially on land used by the Navy Air Technical Training Center, has been the home of numerous championships, including four NCAA Regionals all-time and the 2009 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.

FORMAT

The 13-team, 54-hole tournament is one of six NCAA Regionals and serves as the preliminary event for the NCAA Championship, which OU has advanced to every year since 2011. The low five teams and the low individual not on a qualifying team will go to the NCAA Championship, slated for May 27-June 1 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

TEE TIMES AND PAIRINGS

The Sooners tee off at 8 a.m. CT Monday with Texas and Auburn. Pairings for Tuesday and Wednesday will be determined by the leaderboard.

LIVE STATS

Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.com.