Chacarra's final-round 62 helps Oklahoma State overtake Texas Tech and win team crown in The Amer Ari

    Oklahoma State won an epic edition of the Big 12 Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., was a runaway winner of the NCAA Stillwater Regional at its home course, Karsten Creek Golf Club, and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. before falling last spring.

   At a lot of schools that would be a season to celebrate. I have a feeling the sentiment at Oklahoma State was more along the lines of disappointment.

   When you have a program like the Cowboys have built, you set your sights on a national championship at the beginning of every season. Anything less is not quite good enough.

   Oklahoma State opened the spring portion of the wraparound 2021-2022 season at No. 4 in the Golfstat rankings. All the Cowboys did over the weekend was to close with a remarkable 24-under-par 264 at Hapuna Golf Course in Waimea on Hawaii’s Big Island to edge Big 12 rival Texas Tech by a shot and claim the team crown in The Amer Ari Invitational, which wrapped up Saturday.

   The Amer Ari is always a bit of a birdie-fest, but it always draws a quality field because, you know, Hawaii in February beats the heck out of most of the lower 48 states this time of the year. Oklahoma State bested a field that included four of the top six teams in the Golfstat rankings with those four teams finishing among the top six in the final team standings in The Amer Ari.

   Texas Tech, ranked 11^th, took a 10-shot advantage over Oklahoma State into the final round after the Red Raiders had followed up an opening round of 15-under 273 with a sizzling 21-under 267 in Friday’s second round.

   Oklahoma State had matched Texas Tech’s opening-round 273, but found itself in fifth place following an 11-under 277 in Friday’s second round.

   But behind a spectacular 10-under-par 62 over the 6,875-yard, par-72 Hapuna layout by individual champion Eugenio Chacarra, a senior from Spain and No. 7 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), Oklahoma State went off in Saturday’s final round, its 24-under round giving the Cowboys a 50-under 814 total. It was Oklahoma State’s ninth Amer Ari team crown, but its first since 2019.

   The final-round 264 total matched the Oklahoma State single-round record. Chacarra’s 62 also matched a program record for a single round.

   It’s not like Texas Tech, the runnerup in last spring’s Albuquerque Regional at the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico, played poorly.

   The Red Raiders, behind individual runnerup Baard Skogen, a sophomore from Norway and No. 52 in the WAGR, closed with a 13-under 275 to finish a shot behind Oklahoma State in second place with a 49-under 815 total.

   No. 3 Arizona State, coming off a victory in last month’s Southwestern Invitational at the North Shore Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif., was only a shot behind Texas Tech heading into the final round after the Sun Devils, out of the Pac-12, opened with a sparkling 20-under 268 and added a 15-under 273 in Friday’s second round.

   Arizona State, which also reached the semifinals in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring, backed off a little in Saturday’s final round with a 7-under 281 that left the Sun Devils in third place, seven shots behind Texas Tech at 42-under 822.

   No. 2 North Carolina, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, was four shots behind Arizona State in fourth place with a 38-under 826 total. After opening with a 6-under 282, the Tar Heels ripped off a 17-under 271 in Friday’s second round and closed with a 15-under 273.

   Washington, another Pac-12 entry ranked 21^st, was two shots behind North Carolina in fifth place with a 36-under 828 total. The Huskies were only six shots behind Texas Tech after ripping off back-to-back 15-under 273s in the first two rounds before closing with a 6-under 282.

   It was two more shots back to reigning NCAA champion Pepperdine, ranked sixth, in sixth place as the Waves finished with a 34-under 830 total. Pepperdine might not be from one of the big conferences – the Waves dominate the West Coast Conference – but if you don’t think this program means business, you haven’t been paying attention.

   Pepperdine added an 18-under 270 in Friday’s second round to its opening-round 278 before closing with a 6-under 282.

   North Carolina’s ACC rival, No. 20 Georgia Tech, a regular at the Amer Ari, finished six shots behind Pepperdine in seventh place in the 19-team field with a 28-under 836 total. The Yellow Jackets opened with a solid 14-under 274, but fell back with a 4-under 284 in Friday’s second round before finishing up with a solid 10-under 278.

   The really scary part about Oklahoma State’s performance is that Cowboys were without their best player, sophomore Bo Jin of China and No. 18 in the WAGR. Jin was the runnerup in the individual chase in both the Stillwater Regional and in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring.

   Chacarra, however, took on the leadership role. After adding a 68 to his opening round of 5-under 67, Chacarra trailed Texas Tech’s Skogen by four shots going into the final round. Starting on the fourth hole, Chacarra ripped off nine birdies around a long bogey and was 8-under for his round going to his last hole, the par-5 third hole, which he promptly eagled for a 62.

   It gave Chacarra a 19-under 197 total that was two shots clear of Skogen.

   Backing up Chacarra for the Cowboys was Rayhan Thomas, a junior from the United Arab Emirates who contributed a 6-under 66 to Oklahoma State’s furious final round to end up alone in fifth place with a 15-under 201 total. Thomas was solid throughout, adding a 5-under 67 to his opening-round 68.

   Brian Stark, a junior from Kingsburg, Calif. and No. 33 in the WAGR, sandwiched a 70 in Friday’s second round with a pair of 4-under 68s as he finished in a tie for 13^th place with a 10-under 206 total.

   Tiger Christensen, a freshman from Germany, closed with a 1-under 71 that the Cowboys had the luxury of tossing as he finished in the group tied for 45^th place with a 3-under 213 total. Christensen had opened with a 2-under 70 and matched par in Friday’s second round with a 72.

   Jonas Baumgartner, a sophomore from Germany, rounded out the Oklahoma State lineup as he contributed another 4-under 68 to the Cowboys’ blazing finish that left him among the group tied for 58^th place with a 1-under 215 total. Baumgartner matched par in the opening round with a 72 before struggling to a 75 in Friday’s second round.

   Oklahoma State head coach Alan Bratton also took along a couple of potential contributors for the Cowboys to Hapuana to play as individuals.

   Hazen Newman, a junior from Las Vegas, had a strong showing as he opened with a 5-under 67, added a 71 in Friday’s second round and closed with a 3-under 69 to finish among the group tied for 23^rd place with a 7-under 209 total.

   Dillon Stewart, a junior from Fort Collins, Colo., added a pair of 1-over 73s to an opening-round 77 to finish in a tie for 92^nd place with a 7-over 223 total.

   Skogen looked like he was going to be tough to catch after adding a 7-under 65 to his opening-round 66. He closed with a 4-under 68 for a 17-under 199 only to be passed by Chacarra’s final-round heroics.

   Arizona State’s Mason Anderson, a graduate student from Chandler, Ariz. and No. 76 in the WAGR, and Washington’s R.J. Manke, a senior from Lakewood, Wash. and No. 16 in the WAGR, finished a shot behind Skogen in a tie for third place, each firing a final round of 6-under 66 and landing on 16-under 200.

   Anderson had grabbed the lead following an opening round of 7-under 65 before adding a 3-under 69 in Friday’s second round. Manke fired back-to-back 67s in the first two rounds.

   Texas Tech’s Garrett Martin, a junior from San Antonio, Texas, and North Carolina’s David Ford, a freshman from Peachtree Corners, Ga. and No. 38 in the WAGR, finished a shot behind Oklahoma State’s Thomas in a tie for sixth place, each ending up with a 14-under 202 total.

   Martin carded back-to-back 5-under 67s in the final two rounds after opening with a 68. Ford, who has not missed a beat at the collegiate level after a standout career on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit, heated up in Friday’s second round, adding a sparkling 8-under 64 to his opening-round 70. Ford closed with a 4-under 68.

   Georgia Tech’s Ross Steelman, a junior from Columbia, Mo. and No. 50 in the WAGR, and Arizona State’s Preston Summerhays, a freshman from Scottsdale, Ariz. and No. 72 in the WAGR, were two shots behind Martin and Ford in a tie for eighth place, each ending up with a 12-under 204 total.

   Steelman finished strong with a 6-under 66 after opening with a pair of 69s in the first two rounds. Summerhays, the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur champion at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, was only a shot behind Skogen’s blistering pace going into the final round after he added a 67 to his opening round of 6-under 66 before backing off a little with a final-round 71.

   Cameron Sisk, a senior from San Diego and No. 27 in the WAGR, gave Arizona State a third player inside the top 10 as he sandwiched a 3-under 69 in Friday’s second round with a pair of 69s for an 11-under 205 total that left him among a trio of players tied for 10^th place.

   Sisk and Oklahoma State’s Chacarra were among a group of four players tied for eighth place in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring.

   Rounding out the trio tied for 10^th place at 11-under in the Amer Ari were Auburn’s Austin Goggin, a junior from Birmingham who was competing as an individual, and California Davis’ Thomas Hutchison, a senior from Sam Jose, Calif.

   Goggin, making a pretty strong case for a spot in the Auburn starting lineup, was only three shots out of the lead entering the final round after he fired back-to-back 5-under 67s in the first two rounds at Hapuna before falling back a little with a final-round 71. Hutchison opened with a sparkling 6-under 66 and matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 67.

   Found a couple of PIAA champions in the field, Stanford fifth-year player Nate Menon, the 2015 PIAA Class AA champion as a junior at Wyomissing, and Auburn sophomore Carson Bacha, the 2019 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Central York.

   Menon was listed as being Stanford’s No. 1 player, but struggled a little at Hapuna. After opening with a 2-under 70, Menon matched par with a 72 in Friday’s second round before closing with a 75 to finish in the group tied for 71^st place with a 1-over 217 total.

   Menon was on the roster, but did not make the lineup for Stanford’s run to its ninth NCAA crown in 2019 at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. It wasn’t really that long ago, although the coronavirus pandemic makes it seem like eons ago.

   Stanford finished in ninth place in The Amer Ari, closing with its best round of the tournament, a 16-under 272, for a 25-under 839 total.

   After struggling to an 81 in the opening round, Bacha matched par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s as he landed in a tie for 96^th place with a 9-over 225 total. Just breaking into the starting lineup is a tall task at Auburn.

   The Tigers, out of the tough Southeastern Conference, closed with their best round of the tournament, a 7-under 281, to finish in 11^th place with a 16-under 848 total.