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Sunday, May 26, 2019

It's all Oklahoma State in NCAA Championship as Wolff is individual leader and Cowboys are dominating team standings


   There is one certainty through three rounds of the NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.: Oklahoma State is really good.
   The top-ranked Cowboys, the Big 12 champions, carded a solid 2-under 286 over the 7,550-yard, par-72 Blessings layout Sunday to increase their lead to a whopping 25 shots over their Big 12 rival Texas, No. 5 in the latest Golfstat rankings, and Pac-12 champion Stanford, ranked 10th, heading into Monday’s final round of stroke-play qualifying for match play.
   Oklahoma State, Texas and Stanford all came into the NCAA Championship off team titles in their respective regionals, the Cowboys at the Louisville Regional and the Longhorns and the Cardinals at their home courses in the Austin Regional and the Stanford Regional.
   Nobody knows better than defending champion Oklahoma State that this is all prelude to match play, which gets under way with the quarterfinals Tuesday morning. When the Cowboys complete their dominating run to the top seed, that will be that and it won’t mean a darn thing when some talented team lines up wanting nothing more than to knock off the best team in college golf for the last two years in match play.
   Oh yeah, the top two contenders for the NCAA individual championship, which will also be decided Monday, they’re Oklahoma State guys. So don’t expect Matthew Wolff, a sophomore from Agoura Hills, Calif. and the No. 4 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), or Austin Eckroat, a sophomore from Edmond, Okla. and No. 45 in the WAGR, to back off one little bit in their little intra-squad battle that might very well determine the individual champion.
   Wolff, who surged into contention with a sparkling 6-under 66 in Saturday’s second round, carded a solid 2-under 70 Sunday that left him atop the individual leaderboard at 7-under 209, two shots clear of Eckroat. Wolff’s fellow Cowboy posted a 1-over 73 after posting a pair of 3-under 69s in the first two rounds, leaving Eckroat at 5-under 211.
   The Blessings played tough for a large majority of the field, but it didn’t seem to affect Oklahoma State’s focus.
   Texas posted a solid 1-over 289 for a 13-over 877 total that left the Longhorns tied for second with Stanford, which fell back a little with an 11-over 299. Again, the Longhorns and the Cardinal are 25 shots behind Oklahoma State.
   Somehow, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma have avoided each other in match play while Oklahoma was winning the 2017 national championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. and again last spring when the Cowboys captured the national title on their home course at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
   Well, after struggling to an opening-round 305, the No. 6 Sooners are on the move. After a 1-under 287 in Saturday’s second round, they matched par with a 288 in Sunday’s third round, Oklahoma moved into fourth place, three shots behind Texas and Stanford at 16-over 880. That’s three Big 12 teams among the top four, if anyone is counting, and yes, the conference can puff its collective chest out about that.
   No. 3 Wake Forest, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, also matched par with a 288 and solidified its hold on a match-play berth as the Demon Deacons landed in fifth place at 17-over 881, a shot behind Oklahoma.
   Much like Oklahoma, Southeastern Conference power Vanderbilt, ranked fourth, struggled in the opening round with a 307. But the Commodores followed up an even-par 288 Saturday with a 1-under 287 in Sunday’s third round, the second-best team round of the day, to move into sixth place at 18-over 882, a shot behind Wake Forest.
   Vanderbilt’s SEC rival, Texas A&M, ranked 17th, was two shots behind the Commodores in seventh place at 20-over 884 after posting a 301 in the third round. The Aggies are coming off a team title in the Pullman Regional.
   It’s another eight shots back to No. 13 Clemson, another ACC entry, in eighth place at 28-over 892 after a 10-over 298 in Sunday’s third round. That gives the Tigers a tenuous hold on the eighth and final berth in match play going into Monday’s final round with a whole host of challengers breathing down their necks in search of that same spot.
   First among them is American Athletic Conference representative SMU, probably a little underrated at No. 53. The Mustangs posted a solid 4-over 292 to land just a shot behind Clemson in ninth place at 29-over 893.
   No. 26 TCU, another Big 12 entry, was a shot behind SMU in 10th place at 30-over 894 after matching par with a 288. No. 42 Ohio State, out of the Big Ten, fell out of the top eight as the Buckeyes carded a 14-over 302 and are a shot behind TCU in 11th place at 31-over 295. No. 20 Pepperdine, the West Coast Conference champion, was 12th at 32-over 896, a shot behind Ohio State, after the Waves posted a 5-over 293.
   No. 11 Auburn, the SEC runnerup, fell off a cliff with a surprising 24-over 312 that left the Tigers in 13th place at 34-over 898, two shots behind Pepperdine. Auburn, which has been playing so well since last spring’s run to the NCAA semifinals at Karsten Creek, has some work to do to make its way into the match-play bracket.
   Rounding out the 15 teams that made the cut for Monday’s final round were a couple of Pac-12 powers, No. 12 California and No. 9 Southern California. The Cal Bears struggled to an 18-over 306 to land in 14th place at 35-over 899, a shot behind Auburn. The Trojans, after recording a pair of 304s, improved with a 4-over 292 to just make the cut in 15th place at 36-over 900.
   That left Arizona State, at No. 2 the Pac-12’s highest-ranked team all spring, on the outside looking in. The Sun Devils posted a final round of 15-over 303 to finish a shot behind Southern Cal in 16th place at 37-over 901.
   Backing up Wolff and Eckroat for Oklahoma State was Zach Bauchou, a senior from Forest, Va. and No. 19 in the WAGR who was one of three players tied for fifth in the individual standings at 2-under 214 after carding a solid 2-under 70.
   The Cowboys were able to throw out the 4-over 76 posted by Viktor Hovland, a junior from Norway and No. 1 in the WAGR. That left Hovland among the group tied for 29th at 5-over 221. The guy won the U.S. Amateur at the Pebble Beach Golf Links last summer, so I’m pretty sure he’ll be tough when match play gets under way.
   Rounding out the Oklahoma State lineup was Hayden Wood, a senior from Edmond, Okla. who carded a solid 1-over 73 and was in the group tied for 83rd at 12-over 228.
   Georgia Southern’s Steven Fisk, a senior from Stockbridge, Ga. and No. 24 in the WAGR, continued his climb up the individual leaderboard. Fisk opened with a 4-over 76, but signed for his second straight 4-under 68 Sunday and was alone in third place at 4-under 212, a shot behind Eckroat.
   Arizona State will be represented in the individual chase by Chun An Yu, a junior from Taiwan who posted a 2-under 70 and was alone in fourth place at 3-under 213, a shot behind Fisk.
   Joining Oklahoma State’s Bauchou in the trio tied for fifth at 2-under 214 were Southern California’s Justin Suh, a senior from San Jose, Calif. and No. 2 in the WAGR, and Stanford’s Isaiah Salinda, a senior from South San Francisco, Calif. and No. 14 in the WAGR. Suh surged up the leaderboard on the strength of a 4-under 68 while Salinda carded a 2-over 74.
   Salinda’s teammate, Henry Shimp, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., shared eighth place with California’s Collin Morikawa, a senior from La Canada Flintridge, Calif. and No. 3 in the WAGR, at 1-under 215. Shimp posted a 1-over 73 while Morikawa, who had grabbed the opening-round lead Friday with a 5-under 67, struggled to a 4-over 76.
   Suh and Morikawa, a member of the winning United States side in the 2017 Walker Cup Match at Los Angeles Country Club, have been two of the best players in college golf since they arrived on their respective campuses.
   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual chase was Oklahoma’s Patrick Welch, a freshman from Providence, R.I. who matched par with a 72 and was alone in 10th place at even-par 216.

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