What started out as 64 teams is now down to 15 as the 2026 NCAA Men's Golf Championship enters the final round of 72-hole match play on Monday with Oklahoma still very much in the championship chase.
The 16th-ranked Sooners were in ninth place after Day 3 with a 54-hole score of even par over the par 72 Omni Resort and Spa Champions Course in Carlsbad, California. This year's postseason tournament has added meaning and incentive for Oklahoma with it being Ryan Hybl's final season after 17 as the Sooners' head coach.
The top eight teams after 72 holes of stroke play advance to the match play phase of the championship on Tuesday and Wednesday to determine the national champion. The Sooners have advanced to match play in seven of the last 10 years the championship has been played and three of the last five. They have one national championship in 2017 and a runner-up finish in 2022 during that span.
Nine of the 17 teams that have entered the final round of stroke play one shot back of the top eight have successfully advanced to match play, including five of the last six teams since 2019.
Sooners stay alive with historically good performance
Oklahoma's 54-hole score of even-par 864 is the fourth lowest NCAA Championship score through 54 holes in program history.
OU shot even-par 288 on Sunday, led by junior Ryder Cowan, who carded a third-round score of 3-under-par 69, to move the Sooners within one spot the No. 8 position needed to advance to the match-play portion of the championship on Tuesday and Wednesday. Cowan's round was the only under-par round for OU on Sunday. Senior Jase Summy shot even-par 72.
Cowan is 22nd on the individual leader board after 54 holes at 2-under for the championship. Senior Matthew Troutman is 32nd at 1-under after posting a 1-over 73 on Sunday, and All-American Summy is 59th at two-over after shooting an even-par round Sunday
Sophomore Clark Van Gaalen shot his first over-par round of the championship on Sunday, carding a 2-over 74. He is tied for 55th at 1-over for 54 holes.
Auburn sits in first place at the 54-hole mark at 22 under par. The top-ranked Tigers are followed by Texas at 19-under and Vanderbilt at 9-under. UCLA, Arizona and Oklahoma State are tied for fourth at 8-under. North Carolina, 6-under, and Duke, 1-under, round out the top eight going into Monday's final round of stroke play.
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