Men's Golf Set to Tee Off 2012 Season

NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 22 University of Oklahoma men's golf squad opens its 2012 season Sunday at the 54-hole Gopher Invitational, hosted by the University of Minnesota. The eighth annual event will be held Sept. 9 and 10 at the 7,020-yard, par-72 Spring Hill Golf Club in Wayzata, Minn.

Oklahoma's lineup will feature Abraham Ancer, Michael Gellerman, Eloy Gonzalez, Beau Titsworth and Michael Schoolcraft.

“We are ready to go,” fourth-year OU head coach Ryan Hybl said. “It is nice to get started.”

Ancer enters his senior season at OU as the most decorated golfer on the roster. The Mission, Texas, product led the Sooners in scoring averages each of the past two seasons. Last year, Ancer was the team's top performer in five events. He was named to the PING All-Central Region and Big 12 All-Academic first teams.

Gellerman debuted for the Sooners last season as a true freshman, competing in 12 of the team's 13 events. His season was highlighted by a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Norman Regional, where he shot a career-low 5-under 67 in the second round.

Gonzalez and Titsworth will make their collegiate debuts for the Sooners as true freshmen.

Gonzalez, from Laredo, Texas, attended St. Augustine High School, where he was a two-time TAAPS 5A district champion and a two-time all-state selection. Additionally, Gonzalez is a three-time Mexican Federation Champion.

Titsworth, who attended St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio, and is the state's reigning Division I co-champion, served as team captain his junior and senior years and was a three-time all-state selection.

Schoolcraft completed his OU sophomore campaign last year with the third-best scoring average among team regulars (73.26 in 10 events). The Denver, Colo., native recorded a career-best third-place finish at the David Toms Intercollegiate to lead Oklahoma to its only win of the season.

“We have two young freshmen in the lineup along with three guys with a lot of experience,” Hybl said. “It's a nice mix.”

The 15-team field includes five other squads ranked in Golfweek's preseason top-30: No. 2 California, No. 7 Arkansas, No. 13 Kent State, No. 18 New Mexico, No. 28 SMU and No. 29 North Texas. Also competing will be Arizona State, Charlotte, Iowa, Lamar, Memphis, Minnesota, Penn State and St. John's.

"The golf course is supposed to be phenomenal, and this will be a great field,” Hybl said. “Hopefully we can get off to a great start this week and set the tone for this year in a positive way.”

Oklahoma will be paired with Minnesota and Arizona State on Sunday and tee off at 8:30 a.m. CT. Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.com. Each day's results will be posted to www.SoonerSports.com.

Players Mentioned

Abraham Ancer

Michael Gellerman

Eloy Gonzalez

Michael Schoolcraft

Beau Titsworth

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics