Welch claims individual title, leads No. 1 Oklahoma to team crown in Southern Highlands Collegiate

    Once again looking every bit the best team in college golf, Oklahoma, No. 1 in the latest Golfstat rankings, got off to a blazing start and rode it to a seven-shot victory over a loaded field in the Southern Highlands Collegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at Summer Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas.

   The Sooners had concluded the fall portion of the wraparound 2021-2022 season with a victory in the East Lake Cup, beating Big 12 and in-state rival Oklahoma State in the match-play final with cameras from The Golf Channel rolling at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

   Oklahoma then opened the spring portion of its schedule by going a ridiculous 59-under par to win the Puerto Rico Classic at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico by six shots.

   Oklahoma made a pretty strong opening statement, putting together a 20-under 268 over the 7,510-yard, par-72 Southern Highlands layout in Sunday’s first round. The Sooners cooled off a little with a 6-under 282, but still held a seven-shot lead over Big 12 rival Texas heading into Tuesday’s final round.

   Oklahoma then closed with a solid 12-under 276 that gave it a 38-under 826 total and a six-shot victory over hard-charging Pepperdine, the team that beat the Sooners in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match last spring at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Oklahoma became just the third team in NCAA history to win three straight tournament titles.

   There’s no real way to avenge a loss in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match, but the Sooners also beat Pepperdine in a semifinal match in the East Lake Cup.

   Oklahoma also came away from Las Vegas with the individual title as Patrick Welch, a senior from Aliso Viejo, Calif., dominated the Southern Highlands layout, finishing with a 14-under 202 total that was three shots clear of a pretty strong group of five players tied for second place.

   Pepperdine, a perennial West Coast Conference power, opened with a 15-under 273, backed off with a 1-under 287 in Monday’s second round and closed strong with another 15-under 273 in the final round for a 21-under 833 total. The Waves entered the week ranked No. 5 by Golfstat, but somehow fell back to No. 10 with their runnerup performance at Southern Highlands.

   Texas had moved into second place after adding a 12-under 276 in Monday’s second round, the best team round of the day, to its opening round of 7-under 281. The Longhorns closed with a solid 10-under 278 in the final round to finish two shots behind Pepperdine in third place with a 29-under 835 total. Texas moved up a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 15 to No. 14 in the aftermath of its Southern Highlands showing.

   Florida, coming off an impressive win at home in the VyStar Gators Invitational, was another nine shots behind Texas in fourth place with a 20-under 844 total. The Gators, a Southeastern Conference entry, opened with a solid 13-under 275, added a 285 in Monday’s second round and finished up with a 4-under 284.

   Florida continued its climb up the Golfstat rankings, moving from No. 24 to No. 18 following its showing at Southern Highlands.

   Atlantic Coast Conference power Georgia Tech, coming off a victory in the Watersound Invitational at Shark’s Tooth Golf Club in Panama City Beach, Fla., finished three shots ahead of cross-state rival Georgia, one of Florida’s SEC rivals, for fifth place. The Yellow Jackets aren’t real rivals for the Bulldogs in most sports, but golf is a little bit of a different matter. Both have sent their share of players to the PGA Tour.

   Georgia Tech opened with a solid 12-under 276, backed off with a 2-under 286 in Monday’s second round and jumped over Georgia with a final round of 5-under 283 for a 19-under 845 total. The Bulldogs posted back-to-back 8-under 280s in the first two rounds before matching par in the final round with a 288 that left them three shots behind the Yellow Jackets in sixth place with a 16-under 848 total.

   Georgia Tech also jumped Georgia in the Golfstat rankings. The Yellow Jackets began the week ranked 12^th and moved up to No. 11 following the Southern Islands. The Bulldogs were No. 9 at the beginning of the week, but fell back to No. 12 after their showing in Las Vegas.

   New Mexico, out of the Mountain West, finished a shot behind Georgia in seventh place with a 15-under 849 total. After opening with an 8-under 280, the Lobos added a 287 before closing with a 6-under 282. New Mexico’s showing at Southern Highlands enabled the Lobos, who started the week ranked 29^th, to move into the Golfstat top 25 at No. 25.

   Six-time reigning Big Ten champion Illinois was five shots behind New Mexico in eighth place in the 15-team field with a 10-under 854 total. The Fighting Illini got off to a slow start with a 3-over 291 in the opening round, but added a 5-under 283 in Monday’s second round before closing with an 8-under 280.

   Illinois dropped three spots from No. 19 to No. 22 in the Golfstat rankings in the aftermath of the Southern Highlands Collegiate.

   Welch added a 69 in Monday’s second round to his sparkling opening round of 6-under 66 and shared the lead heading into the final round with Florida’s Fred Biondi, a redshirt junior from Brazil, and UNLV’s Caden Fioroni, a sophomore from San Diego.

   Welch finished strong, carding a solid 5-under 67 in the final round to get it to 14-under.

   Welch’s teammate Drew Goodman, a freshman home boy from Norman, Okla., was one of five players tied for second place at 11-under 205. Goodman contributed a 5-under 67 to the Sooners’ scorching start. He added a 70 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 4-under 68.

   Logan McAllister, a senior from Oklahoma City, Okla. and No. 11 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), gave the Sooners a third finisher among the top seven as he was in a group of three players tied for seventh place at 9-under 207.

   McAllister, who had a runnerup finish in the prestigious Jones Cup Invitational at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. in early February, added a 5-under 67 in Monday’s second round at Southern Highlands to his opening-round 69 before finishing up with a 71. The Sooners were so good in the opening round that they had the luxury of tossing McAllister’s 3-under 69.

   Ben Lorenz, a sophomore from Peoria, Ariz., finished among the group tied for 26^th at 3-under 213. He contributed a 5-under 67 to the Sooners’ fast start, struggled to a 76 in Monday’s second round and closed with a solid 2-under 70.

   Rounding out the Oklahoma lineup was Chris Gotterup, a redshirt senior from Little Silver, N.J. and No. 49 in the WAGR who finished among the group tied for 50^th place with a 2-over 218 total. Gotterup, coming off a really impressive individual win in the Puerto Rico Classic, opened with a solid 4-under 68, but struggled a little the rest of the way, registering a 76 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 74.

   Three players among the top 35 in the WAGR were among the four players who joined Oklahoma’s Goodman tied for second place at 11-under 205, three shots behind Welch, the winner.

   Heading that group was Texas’ Cole Hammer, a senior from Houston and No. 9 in the WAGR. After opening with a 71, Hammer put together back-to-back 5-under 67s.

   Hammer played on a winning Walker Cup side for a second time in the rare spring edition of the biennial event at the iconic Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., nailing down the clinching point for the United States in a hard-fought 14-12 victory.

   It was a disappointing finish to the postseason for the Longhorns later in the spring and they’ve been playing without the Coody twins, who somehow managed to break the same bone in their arm while participating in a post-workout relay race in December. Parker Coody was back in the lineup at Southern Highlands, which, I’m guessing, means Pierceson won’t be far behind.

   Pierceson Coody, another member of the winning U.S. side in the Walker Cup Match at Seminole, is No. 3 in the WAGR and Parker Coody is No. 79 in the WAGR. Obviously, Texas will be tough if the grandsons of 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody from Plano, Texas return to full strength.

   Pepperdine’s Joe Highsmith, a senior from Lakewood, Wash. and No. 17 in the WAGR, was also in the group at 11-under as he matched par with a 72 in Monday’s second round after opening with a 68 and then finished strong with a 7-under 65 that was the best round of the day in Tuesday’s final round.

   Highsmith won all three of his matches in Pepperdine’s run to the NCAA title last spring at Grayhawk.

   Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht, a sophomore from South Africa and No. 33 in the WAGR, also landed in the group tied for second place as he grabbed the individual lead with his opening round of 7-under 65, cooled off with a 71 in Monday’s second round and finished up with a 3-under 69.

   Rounding out the quintet at 11-under was Florida’s Biondi, who was coming off an impressive victory in the VyStar Gators Invitational. Biondi got off to a fast start with a 6-under 66 and added a 69 in Monday’s second round to get a share of the lead going into the final round before closing with a 70.

   A couple more heavyweights, Biondi’s Florida teammate Ricky Castillo, a junior from Yorba Linda, Calif. and No. 15 in the WAGR, and Hammer’s Texas teammate and fellow Houstonian, junior Travis Vick, who is No. 36 in the WAGR, joined Oklahoma’s McAllister in the trio tied for seventh place at 9-under 207.

   Castillo, a perfect 4-0 for the U.S. in the Walker Cup at Seminole last spring, sandwiched a 73 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 5-under 67s. Vick rattled off three straight 3-under 69s.

   Rounding out the top 10 were UNLV’s Fioroni, Highsmith’s Pepperdine teammate Derek Hitchner, a senior from Minneapolis, Minn. and No. 68 in the WAGR, and a third member of Texas’ Houston connection, junior Mason Nome, all of whom landed on 8-under 208.

   Fioroni posted a sparkling 6-under 66 in Monday’s second round after opening with a 69 to get a share of the lead with Welch and Biondi going into Tuesday’s final round before backing off with a 73.

   Hitchner sandwiched a 74 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 5-under 67s. Nome added a 69 in Monday’s second round to the solid 4-under 68 he carded in the opening round before closing with a 71.