NATHAN J. FISH / THE OKLAHOMAN-USA TODAY NETWORK
OU Golf: Oklahoma Advances Out of Norman Regional to NCAA Championship
By OU Media Relations
NORMAN — For the 12th consecutive season, the Oklahoma men's golf team will play for a national championship. The streak is the nation's second longest as the Sooners have punched their ticket out of every regional under head coach Ryan Hybl.
Oklahoma (2, -25) rattled off four birdies on the final hole at the NCAA Norman Regional to secure a runner-up finish and earn their spot at nationals. Sophomore Drew Goodman finished as the runner-up to Texas Tech's Ludvig Aberg, the world's No. 1 amateur, by a stroke.
"We got off to basically a perfect start," Hybl said. "But then all of a sudden, we got around the turn and looked like we didn't know what we were doing. I was watching it happen in front of me and I couldn't believe we were just withering away in front of my eyes. I'm really thankful for the grittiness of our guys and their ability to just stick to it."
NCAA Regionals serve as the preliminary event to the national championship, and the top five teams from six regionals advance to the title. The 2023 championship is slated for May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Sooners entered the final round of the 54-hole event at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club two shots back of eventual regional champion Alabama. However, Oklahoma quickly erased the Tide's lead, claiming the top spot midway through the front nine. As the Sooners approached the turn, they were 15 shots clear of the five-team cut and three strokes ahead of the field. But a 7-over-par stretch on Nos. 9-11 proved pivotal as the Crimson and Cream dropped into fourth place and just five strokes ahead of surging Duke. It was an eagle putt from Ben Lorenz on the 13th that shifted the momentum for the team as OU played its final six holes 9-under par to finish safely above the cut and advance to Grayhawk.
Goodman's (2, -13) runner-up finish was the best of his season, as he led Aberg around the turn after a birdie on No. 10. The Norman product was nearly perfect on Wednesday, tallying six birdies and just one bogey. His birdie on the 18th put a bow on the Sooners' clinching week.
"I thought I played well all week, but I really wanted that eagle chip to go in on 18 to win," Goodman said. "But at the end of the day, all that matters is that we got through as a team. I know that we have it in us to compete for a national championship, so I'm excited to get out to Grayhawk and get started."
One spot behind Goodman on the leaderboard, Lorenz (3, -10) continued his stellar play as of late. A third-place finish behind a final-round score of 66 (-6), tied for his lowest round of the year. Lorenz missed most of the fall season with an injury but returned to the lineup in the spring and has finished inside the top 10 at five straight tournaments, including a win at The Goodwin.
Patrick Welch (T23, -3) was a key piece of the Sooners' strong start as the redshirt senior poured in four birdies over his first six holes. But a 6-over stretch displaced him from the top five around the turn. The three-time All-America honoree responded with birdies on No. 15 and 18 to move into the top 25.
Jase Summy (T53, +3) got in the red for the first time this week on Wednesday, firing a 71 (-1) to finish in a tie for 53rd. Jake Holbrook, who subbed in for Stephen Campbell Jr. after the first round, posted back-to-back 74s (+2).
Oklahoma's performance extended its streak of national championship appearances to 12, the second longest streak in the nation behind Texas' 16 in a row. The qualification is Oklahoma's 50th all-time to the NCAA finals, the eighth most in Division I, and OU is the only team in the country to advance to the championship's last six match play portions. The Sooners are one of four Big 12 teams to advance past the regional stage: No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 15 Texas and Baylor.
No. 17 Alabama won the tournament, firing a Jimmie Austin postseason record 836 (-28). Behind the ninth-ranked Sooners, unranked Colorado finished third, No. 5 Texas Tech got fourth and Duke rallied to grab the final spot. Kansas' Will King won an eight-hole playoff to earn the individual bid from a non-advancing team.
The championships will be contested at Grayhawk for the third year in a row, with teams playing 54 holes of stroke play before the 30-team field is cut to 15. The last 15 teams play one final round of stroke play before the top eight teams advance to match play. Oklahoma has won two national championships (1989 and 2017) and finished runner-up in 2021.