Men's Golf Set To Host Big 12 Championship

April 26, 2012

TRINITY, Texas -- The No. 28-ranked University of Oklahoma men's golf team will compete in the Big 12 Championship this Friday-Sunday (April 27-29) at the 7,330-yard, par-72 Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas. OU is serving as the host school.

The championship consists of 72 holes played over three days -- 36 holes Friday and 18 holes Saturday and Sunday each.

“I feel good about our guys right now,” said OU head coach Ryan Hybl. “Coming off of last week down at Texas A&M, I think we've got a little bit of confidence. It was nice for one our freshmen, Charlie Saxon, to step up last week. He's still playing good, solid golf and I think all of our guys' attitudes are really good going into Friday.”

“Friday will be a long day with 36 holes. It's kind of just a matter of hanging in there, being patient and fighting through the day. I think it's going to be a tough day with the winds they're predicting.”

Last season, Oklahoma State earned a Big 12-leading ninth conference title at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. Texas is next with three league championships, followed by Oklahoma, Baylor and Kansas with one title each. In 2011, Oklahoma State's Morgan Hoffmann won the individual title with a score of 280 (E). The top-10 individual finishers each season are named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team.

The 10-team championship includes some of the best squads and individual golfers in the college game. Top-ranked Texas headlines the event and features the top two golfers in the country in freshman Jordan Spieth and senior Dylan Frittelli. Also in the field are No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 29 Baylor, No. 30 Oklahoma State, No. 46 Texas Tech, Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State.

No. 28 Men's Golf at Big 12 Championship
Dates	Friday, April 27 - Sunday, April 29
Location	Trinity, Texas\| Whispering Pines Golf Club
Notes	Big 12 Championship Records \| Notes \| Pairings
Live Stats	Golfstat.com

OU's lineup will feature senior Riley Pumphrey, junior Abraham Ancer, freshman Michael Gellerman, junior Will Kropp and freshman Charlie Saxon.

Oklahoma is led by its upperclassman duo of Pumphrey and Ancer. The two have competed in a combined 59 rounds, earning 14 of the team's 24 top-20 finishes, and lead the team with three-top 10 finishes each. Pumphrey, who owns a team-best 72.08 scoring average, earned season-best finishes of eighth place at the UTSA/Oak Hills Invitational and Linger Longer Invitational. Ancer's best finish came in the first event of the season at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invite where the Mission, Texas, product carded a three-round 209 (-7) for a share of fifth place.

Gellerman made an immediate impact on the program, participating in the team's first five events of the season. The true freshman's nine team events are second most on the squad. Gellerman holds a 73.36 scoring average and earned a career-best 13th-place finish at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate in Dallas in the fall.

Kropp has seen action in all five team events this spring and one individual event in the fall, recording a 73.78 scoring average and two top-20 finishes.

Saxon secured his place in the championship lineup at the Aggie Invitational last week with a career-best seventh-place finish. Like Gellerman, Saxon made early contributions to the program, participating in the first three events of the season.

“The guys are excited,” said Hybl. I could sense it on the van ride down here; they're attitudes were different. But this is what we've been working for all year; all the practice, preparation, talks, motivation. But at the end of the day, it's time to play. I'm excited to see what we've got.”

Oklahoma will be paired with Texas Tech for Friday's first two rounds, teeing off at 8:45 a.m. CT from the first hole and at 2:15 p.m. from the 10th. Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.com.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Men's Golf Set To Host Big 12 Championship

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