Oklahoma State, No. 1 in the latest Golfstat rankings, continued its march toward home, Karsten Creek
Golf Club, the Cowboys’ home track where the NCAA Championship will be held,
with a fifth straight tournament win, this time over an elite field in the
Valspar Collegiate at Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, Fla.
Oklahoma State, led by individual champion Victor Hovland, a
sophomore from Norway, opened with a 7-under-par 277 Sunday over the
7,114-yard, par-71 Floridian National layout and added a sizzling 10-under 274
in Monday’s second round before cooling off with a final round of 5-over 289
Tuesday for a 12-under 840 total.
No. 23 Florida State fired an impressive 6-under 278 in the
second round and tried to take a run at Oklahoma State, but a final round of
3-under 281 left the Seminoles five shots behind the Cowboys at 7-under 845.
No. 2 Texas A&M, which seems to have survived the loss
of Cameron Champ, a member of the winning United States side in last summer’s
Walker Cup Match, to the professional ranks just fine, took third at 2-under
850. The Aggies finished up with a 2-over 286 and were the only other team in a
16-team field that featured 10 teams in the Golfstat
top 25, to finish under par.
No. 3 Georgia Tech carded a 1-under 283 in the final round
to finish at even-par 852. Reigning ACC champion Duke, ranked 37th,
and No. 9 Baylor shared fifth place at 2-over 854. The Blue Devils sandwiched a
2-under 282 in the second round with a pair of 2-over 286s. The Bears got hot
in the second round, posting a 5-under 279, before cooling off in the final
round with a 7-over 291.
Hovland opened with a 5-under 67, blitzed the Floridian
National layout with a 7-under 65 in the second round and eased home Tuesday
with a 4-under 68 for a remarkable 13-under 200 total.
Backing up Hovland for the Cowboys was Matthew Wolff, a
freshman from Agoura, Calif. who finished in a tie for ninth at 1-under 212.
Wolff had rounds of 70 and 68 before cooling off in the final round with a
3-over 74.
Zach Bauchou, a junior from Forest, Va., ended up in a group
tied for 18th at 1-over 214. Like Wolff, Bauchou started fast with
rounds of 69 and 70 before a final-round 75. Austin Eckroat, a steady freshman
from Edmond, Okla., struggled in the opening round with a 77, but came up big
for the Cowboys with a 71 Monday and a 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s final round.
Rounding out the starting lineup was Kristoffer Ventura, the
veteran senior from Norway who finished tied for 49th at 8-over 221.
Ventura played well the first two days with respective scores of 71 and 73
before struggling to a final-round 77.
Oklahoma State brought along a couple of players who
competed as individuals. Nick Heinen, a junior from Edmond, Okla., finished in
the group with Eckroat tied for 43rd at 220. A sparkling 5-under 66
in Monday’s second round made the trip worthwhile for Heinen. Hayden Wood, a
junior from Edmond, Okla., finished tied for 74th at 229 after a
final-round 78.
Florida State’s John Pak, the Seminoles’ talented freshman
from Scotch Plains, N.J., futilely chased home Hovland, but claimed runnerup
honors at 9-under 204, four shots behind the winner. After a pair of 69s, Pak
finished strong with a sizzling 5-under 66, the best round of the day Tuesday,
when Floridian National appeared to play a little tougher than the first two
days.
Leading the way for Texas A&M was Dan Erickson, a
sophomore from Whittier, Calif. who headed a trio of players tied for third at
7-under 206. Erickson closed with a 1-under 70 after respective rounds of 67
and 69 Sunday and Monday.
Joining Erickson at 7-under 206 were Duke’s Alex Smalley, a
junior from Wake Forest, N.C., and Baylor’s Mathew Perrine, a senior from
Austin, Texas. Smalley finished up with a 1-under 70 while Perrine had a pair
of 67s before cooling off in the final round with a 1-over 72.
Texas’ Doug Ghim, a senior from Arlington Heights, Ill. and
the No. 4 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, finished alone in sixth at
5-under 208. Ghim, one of the heroes of that U.S. victory in the Walker Cup
Match at Los Angeles Country Club and the runnerup in the U.S. Amateur at
Riviera Country Club last summer, closed strong with a 4-under 67.
Erickson’s Baylor teammate Garrett May, a junior from Hope,
Ark., shared seventh placed with South Florida’s Jimmy Jones, a senior from
Tampa, Fla., at 3-under 210. May sandwiched a 3-under 68 in the second round
with a pair of even-par 71s while Jones improved off an opening-round 74 with a
67 Monday and a 69 in Tuesday’s final round.
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