The men’s Oklahoma golf team is in fourth place after 54 holes in the 2019 NCAA Golf Championship being held at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Sooners are one of 14 schools and the top nine individuals not on one of the advancing teams who advanced to play another18-hole round of stroke play on Monday at the home course of the Arkansas Razorbacks. The top eight teams from Monday’s play will move on to a match-play format that will determine this year’s national team champion.
Junior Grant Reband shot three-under-par 69 on Sunday to lead the Sooners, who finished with a 54-hole score of 16-over 880, placing Oklahoma in sole possession of fourth place among the 30 schools competing in the NCAA Championship.
Freshman Patrick Welch, who had a 69 in Saturday’s second round, shot even-par 72 on Sunday along with teammate Blaine Hale. Junior Quade Cummins completed the OU scoring on Sunday with a three-over 75.
Coach Ryan Hybl’s Sooners rebounded dramatically from an opening-round score of 17-over 305 on Friday with rounds of one-under 287 on Saturday and even-par 288 on Sunday.
“We need another good day like we had today,” Hybl told reporters after Saturday’s round, and that’s exactly what he got.
The Big 12 champions, Oklahoma State, led the field at the 54-hole mark with an impressive score of 12-under-par 852. The reigning national champion Cowboys had a whopping 25-shot lead over second-place Texas and Stanford, both at 13 over. Wake Forest is in fifth place, one shot back of OU.
Welch is tied for 10th after 54 holes at even-par 216; Hale is tied for 15th at two-over 218; Reband tied for 44th (+7, 223; Cummins tied for 83rd (+12, 228), and Brad Dalke tied for 108th (+15, 231).
The Oklahoma men made the eight-team cut a year ago before losing to Auburn in the quarterfinals of match play. The Sooners were also fourth after 54 holes in last year’s NCAA Championship, and the year before they won the national title.