Oklahoma State shares lead with Arizona in Marana Regional as Cowboys seek to repeat as NCAA champions

 

   Oklahoma State began its road toward a second straight NCAA Championship as the Cowboys got a share of the lead Monday following the opening round of Marana Regional at the Gallery Golf Club.

   Oklahoma State had defeated Arizona by eight shots at the always challenging Prairie Dunes Golf Club in Hutchinson, Kan. to capture the Big 12 Championship a couple of weeks ago and the host Wildcats were right there with the Cowboys as each opened with an 11-under-par 277 over the 7,317-yard, par-71 Gallery Golf Club layout.

   May Madness ramped right back up Monday with the men’s regionals teeing off at six separate sites around the country. The top five teams and one individual from a non-advancing team will earn a trip to the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. for the NCAA Championship, which tees off May 29.

   The top guns for Oklahoma State and Arizona led the way for their respective teams as the Cowboys’ Preston Stout, a junior from Richarson, Texas and No. 3 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) coming off his third straight Big 12 individual crown, and the Wildcats’ Filip Jakubcik, a senior from Czech Republic and No. 6 in the WAGR, each carded a solid 5-under 67 and were among a trio tied for third place in the individual standings.

   Oklahoma, No. 5 in the latest Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, is the top seed in the Marana Regional. Arizona, No. 18 in the Scoreboard rankings, is seeded third.

   Southeastern Conference power LSU, No. 8 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded second in Marana, was two shots behind the co-leaders in third place with a 9-under 279 total.

   Sun Belt Conference champion Arkansas State, No. 44 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded eighth, was two shots behind LSU in fourth place with a 7-under 281 total.

   The Red Wolves were led by Cole Kirby, a sophomore from Jonesboro, Ark. who grabbed a share of the individual lead with Duke’s William Love, a senior from Atlanta, Ga., each signing for a sparkling 7-under 65.

   Love led the way for Duke, an Atlantic Coast Conference power, as the Blue Devils were a shot behind Arkansas State in fifth place with a 6-under 282 total. The Dookies, No. 29 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded fifth.

   Alabama, another SEC entry with Nick Gross, the 2021 PIAA Class AAA champion as a sophomore at Downingtown West in the lineup, was four shots behind Duke in sixth place with a 2-under 286 total. The Crimson Tide, No. 20 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded fourth in the Marana Regional.

   Gross, who reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur a week before his 16^th birthday in 2022 at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., opened with a 5-over 77 and was among the group tied for 57^th place.

   Oklahoma State trotted out the same starting five as it did nearly a year ago when the Cowboys defeated Virginia, 4-1, in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match at La Costa to notch the program’s 12^th national championship.

   Backing up Stout for the Cowboys was Eric Lee, a junior from Fullerton, Calif. and No. 35 in the WAGR who delivered the clinching point against Virginia, as he was among a group of players tied for sixth place with a 3-under 69.

   Gaven Lane, a junior from Argyle, Texas, landed in the group tied for 15^th place for Oklahoma State with a 2-under 70. Filip Falhberg-Johnsson, a sophomore from Sweden, was in the group tied for 22^nd place with a 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the Oklahoma State lineup was Ethan Fang, a junior from Plano, Texas and No. 8 in the WAGR, as he was among the group of players tied for 46^th place with a 3-over 76. Fang became the first American to capture the Royal & Ancient’s Amateur Championship since 2007 last summer at Royal St. George’s Golf Club.

   Backing up Jakubcik for Arizona were William Wistrand, a freshman from Sweden, and Taishi Mato, a sophomore from Japan and No. 69 in the WAGR, both of whom landed in the group tied for sixth place, each posting a 3-under 69.

   Zach Pollo, a senior from Rocklin, Calif. and No. 61 in the WAGR, was in group tied for 27^th place as he matched par with a 72.

   Rounding out the Arizona lineup was Tianji Xiong, a junior from China who finished among the group tied for 27^th place with a 2-over 74.

   Another former Pennsylvania scholastic standout, West Virginia sophomore Nick Turowski, who lost in a playoff for the PIAA Class AAA crown in 2023 as a senior at Penn Trafford, got off to a strong start for the Mountaineers as he was in the group tied for 15^th place with a 2-under 70.

   West Virginia, another Big 12 representative, is No. 55 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded ninth the Marana Regional.

   In the Corvallis Regional, upstart Purdue, out of the Big Ten, grabbed a three-shot lead with an opening round of 12-under 272 at Trysting Tree Golf Club.

   A pair of Boilermakers, Sam Easterman, a junior from England, and Kentaro Nanayama, a senior from Indonesia, led the way as they were among a group of five players tied for second place in the individual standings, each recording a 4-under 67 over the 7,384-yard, par-71 Trysting Tree layout.

   A couple of big hitters out of the SEC, Oklahoma and Arkansas, were tied for second place in Corvallis, each ending up three shots behind Purdue.

   The Sooners, No. 17 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded third. The Razorbacks, No. 6 in the Scoreboard rankings, are the top seed in Corvallis.

   Upstart Oregon State, No. 57 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded 10^th, was another shot behind Oklahoma and Arkansas, in fourth place with an 8-under 276. The host Beavers were exiled to the West Coast Conference by the breakup of the Pac-12.

   Charlotte, the American Athletic Conference champion, and San Diego, another WCC entry, were tied for fifth place, each ending up four shots behind Oregon State with a 4-under 280 total.

   The Niners, No. 19 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded fourth in Corvallis. The Toreros, No. 42 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded seventh.

   The individual lead belonged to Washington’s Emil Borrestuen Herstad, a freshman from Norway who is competing as an individual, as he opened with a sparkling 5-under 66.

   Backing up Easterman and Nanayama for Purdue was Supapon Amornchaichan, a sophomore from Thailand who was in the group tied for seventh place with a 3-under 68.

   Will Harvey, a freshman from Westfield, N.J., landed among the group tied for 22^nd place with a 1-under 70 and Jenson Forrester, a junior from England, rounded out the lineup for the Boilermakers as he was tied for 73^rd place with a 4-over 75.

   Several Pennsylvania scholastic standouts of recent vintage were in the field in the Corvallis Regional, led by Liberty sophomore Michael Lugiano, who capped his scholastic career at Lake Lehman by finishing in a tie for second place in the 2023 PIAA Class AA Championship.

   Lugiano led the way for Liberty, the Conference USA champion, as he was among the group tied for seventh place with a 3-under 68. The Flames, No. 86 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded 11^th at Corvallis were tied for eighth place following an opening round of 2-under 282.

   Norristown native Josh Ryan, winner of three straight Golf Association of Philadelphia Junior Boys’ crowns from 2020 to 2022, is capping off his career at Liberty and opened with a 2-over 73 that left him in the group tied for 60^th place.

   Junior Rocco Salvitti, who capped an outstanding scholastic career with a runnerup finish in the 2022 PIAA Class AAA Championship as a senior at Pittsburgh Central Catholic, was in the lineup for Notre Dame and matched par with a 71 that left him in the group tied for 33^rd place.

   Salvitti is the regining Pennsylvania Amateur champion, having defeated Lugiano on Lugiano’s home course at Huntsville Golf Club in Dallas last summer.

   Senior Calen Sanderson, the PIAA Class AAA champion in 2020 as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep, opened with a 3-over 74 for the Fightin’ Irish and was in the group tied for 69^th place.

   Notre Dame, No. 31 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded sixth in Corvallis, struggled to an opening round of 3-over 287 and was in a tie for 12^th place.

   In the Athens Regional, Louisville, an ACC upstart, grabbed a three-shot lead over a couple of SEC heavyweights following the opening round at the University of Georgia Golf Course.

   The Cardinals, No. 36 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded sixth, opened with a 10-under 274 over the 7,258-yard, par-71 UGA layout to grab a three-shot lead over No. 1 Auburn, the top seed, and Vanderbilt, No. 13 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded third.

   Louisville was led by Warren Thomis, a sophomore from Richmond, Ky. who carded a 5-under 66 to get a share of second place with Northwestern’s Ethan Tseng, a sophomore from Portland, Ore.

   Auburn, the national champion two years ago and a semifinalist at La Costa a year ago, began its regional run with a solid 7-under 277.

   Leading the way for the Tigers was individual leader Josiah Gilbert, a junior from Millbrook, Ala. and No. 13 in the WAGR, as he opened with a sparkling 6-under 65.

   Vanderbilt got a share of second place with Auburn as the Commodores matched the Tigers’ 7-under total.

   Brigham Young, a Big 12 representative, was another shot behind Auburn and Vanderbilt in fourth place with a 6-under 278 total. The Cougars, No. 24 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded fourth in the Corvallis Regional.

   Host Georgia, another SEC entry, and AAC upstart Rice, were tied for fifth place, each ending up a shot behind BYU with a 5-under 279 total.

   The Bulldogs, No. 26 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded fifth on their home course. The Owls, No. 62 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded 10^th in Athens.

   Backing up Thomis for Louisville were Cooper Claycomb, a junior from Orlando, Fla. who was in the group tied for eighth place with a 3-under 68.

   Brady Smith, a sophomore home boy from Louisville, Ky., was in the group tied for 12^th place with a 2-under 69 for the Cardinals.

   The second-round scores are starting to populate, so I’ll have to abandon what place the players are in.

   Andrew Tan, a senior from Austin, Texas, gave Louisville a fourth top-20 finisher with a 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the Louisville lineup was Easton Johnson, a senior from Kansas City, Mo. who opend with a 6-over 77.

   In the Columbus Regional, powerful Florida, the SEC runnerup, jumped out to a 12-shot lead with a 7-under 277 over The Ohio State University Golf Club’s Scarlet Course, a challenging Alister MacKenzie design.

   The Gators, No. 2 in the Scoreboard rankings and the top seed in Columbus, had the 1-2 finishers, respectively, in the individual standings as Parker Sands, a sophomore from Edmond, Okla., was at the top of the leaderboard with 5-under 66 and Jack Turner, a junior from Orlando, Fla. and No. 24 in the WAGR, was in second place with a 2-under 69.

   Surprising Memphis, the AAC runnerup, was alone in second place with a 5-over 289 total over the 7,422-yard, par-71 Scarlet Course layout. The Tigers, No. 61 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded 10^th.

   A couple of ACC entries, Florida State and Stanford, were another shot behind Memphis in a tie for third place, each registering a 6-over 290.

   The Seminoles, No. 25 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded fifth in Columbus while the Cardinal, No. 14 in the Scoreboard rankings, are the three seed.

   Another upstart, Missouri Valley Conference champion Illinois State, was in fifth place with a 9-over 293 total that left the Redbirds three shots behind Florida State and Stanford. Illinois State, No. 128 in the Scoreboard rankings, is seeded 12^th in Columbus.

   Luke Poulter, junior from Orlando, Fla. and No. 17 in the WAGR, and, and Matthew Kress, a senior from Saratoga, Calif. and No. 24 in the WAGR, were right behind their Florida teammates as each matched par in the opening round with a 71.

   Zack Swanwick, a sophomore from New Zealand and No. 50 in the WAGR, rounded out the Florida lineup as her tallied a 2-over 73.

   This name might not mean a whole lot to anybody, but me, but South Florida, out of the AAC, was led by Hugo Trommetter, a junior from Morocco who opened with a solid 1-over 72.

   Caddied for Trommetter at Stonewall’s Old Course a few Labor Day weekends ago when he was getting ready to take a recruiting trip. The kid could really play and his distance control was particularly impressive for a young guy. He played two years at Sam Houston State before transferring to USF.

   In the Bermuda Run Regional, Virginia, the ACC champion for the second straight spring, jumped out to a two-shot lead over WCC champion Pepperdine with a 13-under 271 total at Bermuda Run Country Club in Winston-Salem, N.C.

   The Cavaliers were led by their decorated senior Ben James of Milford, Conn. and No. 3 in the WAGR, as he posted a sparkling 5-under 66 over the 7,013-yard, par-71 Bermuda Run layout to get a share of the individual lead with Pepperdine’s Mahanth Chirravuri, a senior from Chandler, Ariz. and No. 12 in the WAGR.

   Virginia, No. 3 in the Scoreboard rankings, is the top seed in the Bermuda Run Regional.

   The Waves, No. 15 in the Scoreboard rankings and the third seed, were in second place with an 11-under 273 total.

   Host Wake Forest, another ACC entry, SEC champion Mississippi and its cross-state and SEC rival Mississippi State, and Southern California out of the Big Ten, were in a four-way logjam tied for third place, each landing on 6-under 278.

   The Demon Deacons, No. 37 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded fourth on their home course. Ole Miss, No. 10 in the Scoreboard rankings, is the second seed. The Bulldogs, No. 39 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded seventh. The Trojans, No. 28 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded fifth.

   Backing up James for Virginia were Paul Chang, a graduate student from China and No. 18 in the WAGR, and Bryan Lee, a senior from Fairfax, Va., both of whom were in the top 10 as each tallied a solid 3-under 68.

   The rest of Virginia’s Fairfax connection got off to solid starts as Bryan Lee’s younger brother Michael, a freshman, carded a 2-under 69, and Josh Duangmanee, a senior and No. 46 in the WAGR, got it in in red figures with a 1-under 70.

   James, Chang, Bryan Lee and Duangmanee were all in the starting lineup for Virginia in its loss to Oklahoma State in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match a year ago.

   In the Bryan Regional, SEC power Texas A&M took advantage of playing on its home course to grab a two-shot lead over North Carolina, out of the ACC, with a 12-under 276 total at the Traditions Club.

   The Aggies, No. 27 in the Scoreboard rankings and the five seed on their home course, were led by Wheaton Ennis, a sophomore from Eagle, Idaho and No. 81 in the WAGR who grabbed the individual lead with a sparkling 6-under 66 over the 7,227-yard, par-72 Traditions layout.

   North Carolina, No. 9 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded second in the Bryan Regional, was in second place, two shots behind Texas A&M with a 10-under 278 total.

   The Tar Heels were led by Carson Bertagnote, a freshman from Pinehurst, N.C. who shared second place with Texas’ Luke Potter, a senior from Encinitas, Calif. and No. 31 in the WAGR, each recording a 5-under 67.

   TCU, out of the Big 12, was two shots behind North Carolina in third place with an 8-under 280 total. The Horned Frogs, No. 34 in the Scoreboard rankings, are seeded sixth in the Bryan Regional.

   Texas, behind Potter, was a shot behind TCU in fourth place with a 7-under 281. The Longhorns, an SEC power and No. 4 in the Scoreboard rankings, are the top seed in the Bryan Regional.

   Tennessee, another SEC representative, was a shot behind Texas in fifth place following an opening round of 6-under 282.

   Backing up Ennis for Texas A&M was Aaron Pounds, a junior from The Woodlands, Texas who opened with a solid 4-under 68.

   Kris Kuvaas, a junior from Houston, Texas, added a solid 2-under 70, and Shiv Parmar, a freshman from Selina, Texas, and Jaime Montojo, a senior from Spain, each matched par with a 72 in rounding out the lineup for the Aggies.

   Like the women's regionals last week, this is a table-setter for the second and third rounds Tuesday and Wednesday. I'll spend a couple of days transcribing and wrap up the regionals later in the week.