Oklahoma golf: Sooners’ NCAA title run ends in quarterfinals loss to ASU
By Chip Rouse
The men’s Oklahoma golf team’s bid for a third NCAA national championship ended in a 3-2 match-play loss to Arizona State on Monday.
Tuesday’s NCAA quarterfinal round was played at the par-70 Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, just a few miles from Arizona State’s campus in Tempe.
The Sun Devils of Arizona State entered the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men’s Championship as the No. 7 seed out of the eight qualifying schools. The Sooners were the No. 2 seed, having finished second to Vanderbilt in the 72-hole stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship, but were ranked No. 1 in the country coming into the championship.
The quarterfinals match between the Sooners and Arizona State was all tied at two wins apiece with one match still on the course. Arizona State senior Cameron Sisk was up by one over OU redshirt-freshman Stephen Campbell Jr. heading to the 18th hole. The young Sooner golfer showed his poise and resilience by sinking an eight-foot birdie putt to win the 18th hole and extend the match.
Both golfers hit perfect tee shots on the sudden-death extra hole and then knocked their second shot into makeable birdie distance on the green. Sisk’s birdie putt sneaked in on the right side of the cup, bringing an instant celebration from his teammates who were camped aside the green. Campbell’s putt from a little shorter distance to halve the hole and extend the match skirted just by the right side of the cup, ending the Sooners title hopes.
It shouldn’t fall all on Campbell’s shoulders, however. The OU second-year freshman put up a gallant fight against his opponent, Sisk, who tied for fifth in the 72-hole individual championship.
OU freshman Drew Goodman and senior Logan McAlister won their matches. Goodman won 2-up over J. Ballester of Arizona State and McAlister defeated David Puig 3 and 2. The shocker from an Oklahoma perspective was Chris Gotterup, the Sooners’ No. 1 player and winner of the Haskins Award, as the top performer in collegiate golf for 2022, falling 7 and 5 to Arizona State’s Preston Summerhays.
The other Oklahoma loss in the overall match came when Mason Anderson of ASU defeated the Sooners’ Patrick Welch 1-up.
Arizona State now moves on to play reigning national champion Pepperdine, a 3-2 winner over No. 3 seed North Carolina, in the semifinals on Tuesday afternoon. The other semifinal match will pair No. 1 seed Vanderbilt, a 3 and 2 winner over Texas Tech, and No. 4 Texas, which defeated Oklahoma State 3 and 2.
The winners of the two semifinal matches will square off on Wednesday in an 18-hole match that will determine the 2022 national champion.
The Oklahoma golf season has come to an end, but the Sooner fans should feel proud of what this group accomplished this season: a record-tying seven first-place finishes, an 18th conference championship, plus the player voted No. 1 in collegiate golf.
The Sooners may not have realized their NCAA Championship goals, but they did extend their streak of consecutive match-play appearances to a nation-best six, and their successive NCAA Championship appearances are the second most in the country.