Oklahoma golf: OU’s Patrick Welch is Big 12 Co-Men’s Golfer of Month
By Chip Rouse
Senior Patrick Welch is one of the top golfers on the No. 1-ranked men’s Oklahoma golf team this season, and he has been named the Big 12’s Co-Men’s Player of the Month for February.
During February, Welch produced back-to-back 54-hole career-low scores of 14-under-par 202 in helping lead Oklahoma to a pair of team victories in the Puerto Rico Classic and the Southern Highlands Collegiate Classic in Las Vegas.
Welch opened the 2021-22 spring golf season on Feb. 13, setting an OU program record with an opening round 10-under-par 62 at the Puerto Rico Classic. He’s been on fire ever since. He finished tied for sixth in Puerto Rico and was the individual medalist in the Southern Highlands tournament.
Oklahoma finished first in both February tournaments. By becoming the individual champion at the Las Vegas tournament. Welch earns an invitation to the PGA Tour’s Shriners Hospital for Children Open Oct. 6-9 at the TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.
Welch has been the individual champion twice in his four-year career at Oklahoma. In addition to winning the Southern Highlands Classic this season, the California native was the medalist at the 2020 East Lake Cup, which features the top four teams in the previous year’s NCAA Men’s Golf Championship.
Competing in seven tournaments since September, the No. 1 Sooner men have captured four team championships, finished second twice and placed third in the Big 12 Match-Play Championship.
The Sooners will be looking for their fourth consecutive team victory at the Men’s NIT in Tucson, Arizona on Friday and Saturday. OU finished second in this tournament a year ago.