If you think the Oklahoma Sooners plan to give up their NCAA
Championship without a fight, think again.
No. 9 in the latest Golfstat
rankings, reigning national champion Oklahoma fired a shot across the bow with
a brilliant three-shot victory over a very tough No. 11 California and the rest
of a strong 26-team field in The Godwin, which wrapped up Saturday at TPC
Harding Park, the lovingly restored San Francisco municipal course where the
2020 PGA Championship will be staged.
There was individual brilliance as well as Oregon’s Norman
Xiong, a sophomore from Canyon Lake, Calif. and a hero of the U.S. team’s
Walker Cup victory at Los Angeles Country Club last summer, went off with a
pair of 6-under-par 65s over the 7,143-yard, par-71 TPC Harding Park layout
before finishing up with a ho-hum 3-under 68 Saturday for a spectacular
15-under 198 total and a six-shot victory.
Oklahoma opened with a 5-under 279 Thursday that left it two
shots behind No. 20 Stanford, which carded a 7-under 277. But the Sooners then
ripped off a 15-under 269 in Friday’s second round to take control of the
tournament before finishing the job with a solid 4-under 284 Saturday for a
24-under 828 total.
Cal kept the pressure on throughout. The Golden Bears opened
with a 2-under 282 and added a 13-under 271 before finishing up with a 6-under
278 that left them three shots behind Oklahoma at 21-under 831. Cal played
winning golf, it just got beat.
Like Cal, Stanford was playing close to home. After the
opening 277, the Cardinal posted a 1-under 283 in Friday’s second round before
a final round of 8-under 276 that left it in third place at 16-under 836, five
shots behind its Northern Cali neighbor.
No. 31 Oregon, which has played on the Final Match at the
NCAA Championship in each of the last two seasons, rode Xiong’s brilliant
performance to a fourth-place finish at 10-under 842. The Ducks opened with a
pair of 5-under 279s before finishing up with an even-par 284.
No. 24 UNLV, one of eight teams still standing for match
play in last spring’s NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms, finished fifth
at 3-under 849. The Runnin’ Rebels fired a 5-under 279 in Friday’s second round
before finishing up with a 4-over 288.
No. 46 Northwestern and No. 47 Colorado finished tied for
sixth at 1-over 853. The Wildcats opened strong with a 6-under 278 and finished
up with a 1-over 285. The Buffaloes fired a 6-under 278 in Friday’s second
round before finishing up with a 4-over 288. Colorado made it four Pac-12 teams
among the top seven, so, as you would expect, the conference will be heard from
in the postseason.
It was Oklahoma that got out of its comfort zone a little to
head west for Easter weekend and take on a big, tough field on a demanding golf
course. The Sooners collected their second straight tournament win and their third of the season.
And you can’t help but imagine an NCAA Championship
match-play showdown between Oklahoma and No. 1 Oklahoma State on the Cowboys’
home track in Stillwater, the Karsten Creek Golf Club. Hey, a guy can daydream.
Oklahoma was led by its leader, Brad Dalke, a junior from
Norman, Okla. who was a beaten finalist in the 2016 U.S. Amateur at Oakland
Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Dalke saves his best stuff for when it matters the most and
that was the case this weekend at Harding Park. Dalke opened with a 2-under 69,
contributed a 5-under 66 to the Sooners’ spectacular second round and finished
up with a 1-over 72 to end up tied for fifth at 6-under 207.
Grant Hirschman, a senior from Collierville, Tenn., and
Blaine Hale, a junior from Dallas, both landed in the group tied for seventh at
5-under 208. Hirschman struggled in the opening round with a 4-over 75, but got
it going after that with a 4-under 67 in Friday’s second round and the Sooners’
best score of the final round, a 5-under 66. Hale went 67-69 in the first two
rounds before finishing up with a 1-over 72.
Quade Cummins, a redshirt sophomore from Weatherford, Ohio
was a fourth Oklahoma player in the top 10 as he finished in the group tied for
10th at 4-under 209. After opening with a 1-over 72, Cummins fired a
4-under 67 in the second round and finished up with a 1-under 70.
Rounding out the Oklahoma lineup was Riley Casey, a
sophomore from Abilene, Texas who finished tied for 38th at 2-over
215, although his opening-round 71 was a crucial counter for the Sooners.
Stanford was led by Jeffrey Swegle, a senior from West Des
Moines, Iowa who opened the tournament with a spectacular 8-under 63, but
couldn’t keep up with Xiong after that. Swegle had rounds of 71 Friday and 70 Saturday
to take runnerup honors at 9-under 204, six shots behind the winner.
California had two players finish in the top five as Sebastian
Crampton, a redshirt junior from Pacific Grove, Calif., was alone in third at
8-under 205 and Collin Morikawa, a junior from La Canada Flintridge, Calif.,
shared fifth place with Oklahoma’s Dalke at 6-under 207.
After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Crampton
fired a 6-under 66 in Friday’s second round and finished up with a 3-under 68.
Morikawa, another standout performer along with Xiong on the winning U.S. side
in the Walker Cup Match last summer, reached 7-under after two rounds after
going 66-69, but cooled off with a 1-over 72 in Saturday’s final round.
Northwestern’s Sam Triplett, a junior from Scottsdale,
Ariz., finished alone in fourth place, a shot behind Cal’s Crampton at 7-under
206. Triplett opened with a 5-under 66 and added a pair of 1-under 70s.
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