The Oklahoma State Cowboys got the early morning tee times at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships. It was a great morning.
The Cowboys – who started the day in a tie for 20th place after first-round struggles across the board – surged back into contention with a terrific second round that puts them well inside the tournament’s first cut line, which comes on Sunday after 54 holes.
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All four scores the Cowboys used were under par as the team shot a 14-under 274 to move into a tie for fourth place. Oklahoma State started the day at 7-over par for the event.
All OSU must do in Sunday’s third round is to finish among the Top 15 teams in stroke play to make the first cut. Then, during Monday’s final round of stroke play, Oklahoma State must finish among the Top 8 teams. The Cowboys are well-positioned to do that. When the third round starts, Oklahoma State will be 13 shots out of first place, with Auburn leading at 20-under.
Winning stroke play doesn’t matter in this tournament. The Top 8 teams play in match play for the national championship starting Tuesday at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.
Oklahoma State After Second Round
Eric Lee – 72-67- (5-under)
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Preston Stout – 73-67- (4-under)
Gaven Lane – 72-72- (2-over)
Ethan Fang – 76-71- (3-over)
Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson – 78-69- (3-over)
Lee had a brilliant morning, firing a bogey-free 67 that saw him post birdies on two par-5s and finish with a birdie on No. 17. That surged him into a tie for ninth place in the individual medalist race. He was a medalist at the Marana Regional two weeks ago.
Stout also shot a 67 that moved him into the Top 15 after 36 holes. After recording two double-bogeys in the first round, he only bogeyed one hole, the par-4 17th. He had three birdies on the front nine and three birdies on the back nine.
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Fahlberg-Johnsson had a huge bounce-back after he shot a 6-over 78 on Friday. His 3-under 67 included six birdies and three bogeys, with one run in which he birdied three out of five holes on the front side. While still over par for the event, OSU used his score for the second round.
Fang bounced back from his own issues on Friday to shoot a 1-under 71. That moved him to 3-over for the tournament and in a tie with Fahlberg-Johnsson. Fang holed out from the fairway for an eagle on the par-4 fourth hole. He also had two birdies, one bogey and one double bogey.
Lane had the high round of the day for OSU, but it was an even-par 72 as he offset three birdies with three bogeys. He was coming off a first-round 72.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahomastate as Oklahoma State Golf Surges to Contention in NCAA Championships Second Round.
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