Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are no longer in the same conference. But they are still in the same state and they remain two of the very best golf programs in Division I men’s golf. The rivalry lives on.
With the Sooners and Texas gone to the Southeastern Conference, there won’t be one of those epic Big 12 Championship shootouts among Oklahoma, the Longhorns and the Cowboys this spring.
This week’s Maridoe Intercollegiate will have to do as Oklahoma rolled to a 16-shot victory over Oklahoma State at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.
None of the websites I checked had a lot to say about the weather, but it must have created some challenging conditions because the scores were high, particularly in Tuesday’s final round. I’m told the wind blows in Texas almost all the time, which is why all those Oklahoma and Okie State guys are so good playing in it.
The Sooners, who held their No. 7 spot in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings in the aftermath of their Maridoe victory, were the only team that finished under par as they opened with a 3-under 285 over the 7,358-yard, par-72 Maridoe layout and added a 5-under 283 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to take a commanding 14-shot lead over Oklahoma State and Arizona State going into Tuesday’s final round.
A final round of 1-over 289 was good enough to give Oklahoma a 7-under 857 total, 16 shots clear of Oklahoma State, which ended up with a 9-over 873 total. It was the fourth tournament win in the wraparound 2024-2025 season for the Sooners.
A balanced Oklahoma lineup was led by a 1-2 finish from Jake Summy, a junior from Keller, Texas and No. 23 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Ryder Cowan, a sophomore home boy from Norman, Okla. and No. 68 in the WAGR.
Summy was unflappable in the difficult conditions, opening with a 1-under 71 and adding a 3-under 69 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 2-under 70 for a 6-under 210 total. It was Summy’s second career individual title.
Cowan posted back-to-back 1-under 71s in Monday’s double round before closing with a 2-under 70 to finish two shots behind his teammate in second place with a 4-under 212 total.
Oklahoma State, which dropped a spot from No. 4 to No. 5 in the Scoreboard rankings with its runnerup finish, was certainly consistent at Maridoe, recording three straight 3-over 291s to finish in second place with its 9-over total.
The Cowboys were led by Preston Stout, a sophomore from Richardson, Texas and No. 48 in the WAGR who finished two shots behind Oklahoma’s Cowan with a 2-under 214 total. Stout opened with a solid 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 1-under 71.
What would be a pretty nice season for a lot of programs was a disappointment for perennial national powers like Oklahoma and Oklahoma State a year ago.
Oklahoma claimed the team title as a three seed in the Rancho Sante Fe Regional with Oklahoma State finishing in a tie for third place to also earn a trip to the NCAA Championship at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. out of the Rancho Santa Fe Regional.
It was the worst possible finish for the Sooners at La Costa as they ended up in ninth place, a shot out of the top eight in the match-play bracket. All veteran Oklahoma head coach Ryan Hybl would ask for is a shot at a national championship in match play for his Sooners.
Arizona State, which dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 in the Scoreboard rankings following the Maridoe Intercollegiate, joined Oklahoma State in the Big 12 after the untimely demise of the Pac-12.
The Sun Devils only trailed Oklahoma by three shots after matching par in the opening round with a 288 and were tied for second place with Oklahoma State going into the final round after they added a 6-over 294 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.
Arizona State struggled in the difficult conditions of Tuesday’s final round, closing with a 306, but still finished in third place, 15 shots behind Oklahoma State with a 24-over 888 total.
Arizona State was led by Michael Mjaaseth, a junior from Norway and No. 54 in the WAGR who finished in fourth place, two shots behind Oklahoma State’s Stout at even-par 216.
Mjaaseth was only a shot behind Summy going into the final round as he matched par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 72 after opening with a solid 3-under 69. But he backed off a little with a 3-over 75 in the final round.
Arizona State failed to fire as the top seed in the Rancho Santa Fe Regional last spring and did not advance to the NCAA Championship. I’m sure the Sun Devils would like some redemption this spring.
Alabama, a perennial SEC power, finished a shot behind Arizona State in fourth place with a 25-over 889 total.
The Crimson Tide, who fell a spot in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 14 to No. 15 in the aftermath of the Maridoe Intercollegiate, opened with a 10-over 298 and matched par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a solid 288, but struggled in the final round with a closing 303.
Alabama was led by freshman Nick Gross, whose outstanding scholastic career at Downingtown West was highlighted by a victory in the PIAA Class AAA Championship at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort as a sophomore in 2021.
You can sense that Gross is starting to settle in at Alabama as he keeps getting a little better with each start. He was part of a group of four players who finished in a tie for 10th place at 4-over 220 in the tough conditions at Maridoe.
Gross, a U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. a week shy of his 16th birthday in the summer of 2022, opened with a 3-over 75 at Maridoe and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a solid 72.
With Oklahoma and Texas added to an already potent lineup, the SEC Championship at Sea Island Golf Club on Saint Simons Island, Ga., which tees off April 23, is going to be a fascinating gathering of golf talent.
North Carolina Greensboro, a Southern Conference representative and No. 85 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished eight shots behind Alabama in fifth place in the team standings with a 33-over 897 total.
The Spartans added a 6-over 294 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round to their opening-round 295, but struggled, as many other teams did, in the final round with a closing 308.
Baylor, another Big 12 entry and No. 76 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished a shot behind UNCG in sixth place in the 13-team field with a 34-over 898 total. After opening with a 300, the Bears added a 9-over 297 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 301.
Oklahoma had two more players inside the top eight in the individual standings as Clark Von Gaalen, a freshman from Turlock, Calif., finished in a tie for sixth place with host North Texas’ Blake Keen, a freshman from Burleson, Texas, at 2-over 218, and senior Drew Goodman, another home boy from Norman, Okla. and No. 33 in the WAGR, landed in a tie for eighth place with Louisiana Tech’s Niilo Maki-Petaja, a sophomore from Finland, at 3-over 219.
Van Gaalen contributed a 2-under 70 to Oklahoma’s solid start and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 2-over 74. Goodman also opened with a solid 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 4-over 76.
Summy, Cown and Goodman were all in the Oklahoma lineup when the Sooners captured the title in last spring’s Rancho Santa Fe Regional.
Rounding out the Oklahoma lineup was Matthew Troutman, a junior from Louisville, Ky. and No. 87 in the WAGR, as he finished among the group tied for 17th place with a 7-over 223 total. After opening with a 4-over 76, Troutman matched par in the afternoon of Monday’s double round with a 72 before closing with a 3-over 75.
Backing up Stout for Oklahoma State was Gaven Lane, a sophomore from Argyle, Texas who finished alone in fifth place, a shot behind Arizona State’s Mjaaseth, with a 1-over 217 total. Lane opened with a 4-under 68, the low individual round of the tournament, and added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 75.
North Texas’ Keen bounced back from an opening round of 3-over 75 with a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before matching par in the final round with a 72 that earned him a share of sixth place with Oklahoma’s Van Gaalen at 2-over.
Louisiana Tech’s Maki-Petaja opened with a 1-over 73 and added a solid 3-under 69 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before struggling a little with a final-round 77 that left him in a tie for eighth place with Oklahoma’s Goodman at 3-over.
Eric Lee, a sophomore from Fullerton, Calif. and No. 75 in the WAGR, gave Oklahoma State a third top-10 finisher as he closed with a 3-under 69, the low round of the day in Tuesday’s final round, to join Alabama’s Gross in the foursome tied for 10th place at 4-over.
Lee, a semifinalist in the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes on the rugged Oregon coastline who transferred to Oklahoma State after a year at California, opened with a 4-over 76 before adding a 3-over 75 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round.
Rounding out the quartet at 4-over were Arizona State’s Fifa Laopakdee, a sophomore from Thailand, and UNCG’s Jake Lewis, a freshman from Cary, N.C.
Laopakdee matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round before closing with a 3-over 75.
Lewis added a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of Monday’s double round after opening with a 75 before moving up the leaderboard in the final round with a 1-under 71.