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OU Golf: Oklahoma In Great Shape Heading to Day 2 of NCAA Norman Regional

The Sooners roared up the leaderboard quickly and stand in second place as Drew Goodman shares the individual lead and two others are in the top 15.

John E. Hoover

By OU Media Relations

NORMAN – After 18 holes at their home course, No. 9 Oklahoma is in second place and one back of the team lead at the NCAA Norman Regional.

Sophomore Drew Goodman shares the individual lead at the 54-hole tournament hosted at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. Two other Sooners, Ben Lorenz and Patrick Welch, join the sophomore inside the top 15.

"I thought we had an OK day," head coach Ryan Hybl said after the round. "We had two guys combine to go 10-under par and we just have to find a way to get our two guys over par into the red tomorrow. It's always nice to play at your home course, but that comes with some nerves. I think those nerves settle a bit going into day two, so we'll look to have a better day tomorrow. Overall, we're in a really good spot but we're looking forward to tomorrow's round."

Looking to advance to their 12th consecutive NCAA Championship, the Sooners (2, -9) teed off Monday after a three-hour weather delay. 

OU's 279 (-9) was good enough to keep the Sooners in the hunt for a seventh NCAA Regional in program history. 

The 14-team, 54-hole tournament is one of six NCAA Regionals that serve as the preliminary events for the NCAA Championship, which OU has advanced to every year since 2011, the second-longest streak in the nation. The low five teams and the low individual not on a qualifying team in Norman will attend the NCAA Championship, scheduled for May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ.

Initially slated to tee off at 8 a.m., thunderstorms pushed OU's tee time to 11 a.m., but once the Sooners were on the course, they wasted no time bolting up the leaderboard. Patrick Welch (T15, -1) posted a birdie on the par-4 first hole, and Ben Lorenz (T4, -4) opened his day with three birdies as the Sooners jumped in front early.

A trio of big numbers around the turn opened the door for top-seeded No. 5 Texas Tech to make their move, which the Red Raiders did behind the play of the world's No. 1 amateur Ludvig Aberg (3, -5), who posted a clean-card 67 Monday. Oklahoma battled to reclaim the top spot but played the back nine just 4-under while TTU rattled off a 10-under mark over the final nine holes to take a one-shot lead into Tuesday's second round.

Drew Goodman (T1, -6) bogeyed his first two holes but was nearly perfect the rest of the day, tallying six birdies, an eagle and no bogeys to grab a share of the lead at 6-under par. It was Goodman's, a sophomore from Norman, 11th round in the 60s this season, and his spring's lowest round. He shares the lead with Alabama's Nick Dunlap, and the two will be paired along with Aberg on Tuesday.

"I got off to a pretty ragged start and it was obviously not how you want to start the week off, but I was able to turn it around really quickly," Goodman said. "A couple of birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 and then played well in the middle of the round. I'm glad I could do that for the team because we didn't play our best today, but we'll come out here tomorrow and try and play a bit better."

Ben Lorenz holds fourth after a 4-under 68 as the junior made his second NCAA regional appearance on Monday. A string of four birdies in his first five holes saw the Arizona native surge into first, but an even-par mark over the rest of his round bumped him down the leaderboard.

Patrick Welch, making his fourth NCAA Regional appearance for the Sooners, carded a 71 (-1) as he extended his school record for par-or-better rounds to 90. Stephen Campbell Jr. (T45, +2) and freshman Jase Summy (T56, +4) closed the Sooners' contingent.

The Sooners tee off at 8 a.m. Tuesday with Texas Tech (1, -10) and Alabama (3, -7). Entering the second round of play, Oklahoma is six shots clear of the championship cut.

Published
John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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