OU Jumps to Second at Baylor Int.

Oct. 28, 2008

DALLAS, Texas -- Matching yesterday afternoon's team score of 287 (+3), the OU men's golf squad defeated two squads ranked in the latest Golfstat top-10 (No. 2 Arkansas and No. 10 Baylor) en route to a share of second place at the Baylor Intercollegiate on Tuesday.

After opening the tournament with a team score of 298 (+14) at the par-71, 7,068-yard Royal Oaks Country Club, the Sooners played their final 36 holes a combined six-over, second-lowest only to tournament-host Baylor.

"I was extremely proud of the way we hung in there early after not playing our best golf to start today's round," said head coach Jim Ragan. "Just as we did in our victory at Yale, we played our final nine holes under par, which really shows signs of maturity for such a young squad."

Paving the way for Oklahoma were a pair of freshmen in Riley Pumphrey (75-68-70) and Chris Wilson (74-71-72), who finished in a tie for second and ninth, respectively. Pumphrey's runner-up effort marked a career best, while Wilson posted his second consecutive top-10 finish after placing eighth at the Macdonald Cup on Oct. 5.

Sophomore Liam Logan rebounded from a first-round 76 with a 72 on Monday afternoon and sits at +6, in a tie for 18th.

Ben Blundell (73-76-73) and Liam Logan (76-72-74) both tied for 21st at +9, while Eric Durbin finished in a share for 42nd at +15 after shooting his lowest round of the event (72) on Tuesday.

"We did a lot of good things out there, but also have some areas where we can improve heading into the spring," added Ragan. "A good sign is that the guys are recognizing immediately some of those little mistakes and how they can avoid those in the future and I really feel that we can grow from that."

No. 31 Texas A&M, the overnight leader, held on for a two-shot victory at 870 (+18) over OU and Lamar. Texas A&M and Lamar both carded final-round scores of 293 (+9), allowing the Sooners to close the gap after their strong final round.

SMU's James Kwon garnered individual medalist honors after a final-round 69. Kwon finished the event at as the only golfer in red figures (-1), besting Pumphrey and Lamar's Justin Harding by a shot.

Oklahoma returns to the links Feb. 4-6 at the UH-Hilo Intercollegiate in Waikoloa, Hawaii.

LINK TO FINAL RESULTS