Oklahoma golf: Sooner men narrowly miss out in Big 12 Championship
By Chip Rouse
The men’s Oklahoma golf team narrowly missed out in capturing its third Big 12 golf championship on Wednesday.
The conference championship literally came down to the final hole in the 72-hole tournament staged at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas. The No. 1 ranked Sooners fell by a single stroke to in-state rival Oklahoma State. Oklahoma finished with a four-round score of 10-over-par 1130, one shot back of the Cowboys and one better than third-place Texas.
It was the closest finish in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Men’s Golf Championship, with just a two strokes separating the top three teams. It was Oklahoma State’s 11th Big 12 men’s championship.
The Sooners also finished second on the individual leaderboard in the championship. Redshirt-senior Quade Cummins shot a final-round score of four-under-par 66 for a 72-hole total of 277 (-5). He led the Sooners in scoring in all four rounds and finished in a tie for second place with Bo Jin of Oklahoma State. His final-round 66 was the lowest 18-hole score of any OU golfer over the four days.
Cummins was one of just four golfers who scored under par for the championship.
Junior Logan McAllister finished tied for sixth overall with a four-round total of six-over-par 286.
This year’s Big 12 Men’s Championship was a three-team race from the start between three conference teams ranked in the top-five nationally: No. 1 OU, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 5 Texas.
The Sooners trailed Texas by a stroke after the opening round and took the lead after 36 holes with a score of 17-over 577, one shot better than second-place Oklahoma State. Like a Hollywood script, all three teams were tied at 18-over-par 856 after the third round, setting up what promised to be a ight to the finish over the final 18 holes for the championship.
And that’s exactly what took place.
The OU team finished ahead of Texas and Oklahoma State on the final day and was in the clubhouse with a tournament-leading 72-hole team score of 10-under 1130. Oklahoma State posted a pair of birdies, a par and a bogey on the 72nd hole, which was just enough to push them ahead of the Sooners by the winning score of 11-under 1129, one stroke better.
Next up for the OU men’s team is the NCAA selection show on Wednesday, May 5, when the Sooners will learn where the six NCAA Regionals will be held. Because of their No. 1 ranking, OU is expected to earn one of the top seeds.
The 2021 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship is set for May 15-18 in Scottsdale, Arizona. This will be the first time in two years the NCAA Championship has been held because of the pandemic year in 2020. Oklahoma finished fourth in 2019, bowing out during match play in the quarterfinals.