Hale Wins Cotton States Invitational

NORMAN — University of Oklahoma rising junior Blaine Hale took the title at the W. E. Cole Cotton States Invitational on Sunday, defeating teammate Thomas Johnson, 5 and 4. The event took place at the par-72, 7,234-yard Bayou DeSiard Country Club in Monroe, La.

Hale, who finished as the runner-up in the 2016 tournament, got off to a hot start in Sunday's final match. The Dallas, Texas, native had a 6-up lead after the front nine, posting a 29 (-7) through nine holes.

Johnson, a rising redshirt sophomore, won the 10th hole, but Hale responded with another win on 11. After Johnson claimed hole No. 13, the OU duo halved No. 14 to seal the victory for Hale.

“Any time you can win, it is a big deal in our sport, and I think Blaine will take a lot of confidence from this win,” OU head coach Ryan Hybl said. “It was great to see Thomas perform well this weekend as well.”

The Sooners both advanced through four rounds of match play to reach the final match. Hale claimed a 6 and 4 victory and Johnson won 4 and 3 in Saturday's semifinals.

Johnson earned the No. 16 seed in match play while Hale was No. 19 after tying for 13th (144; E) and 19th (145; +1), respectively, in the 36-hole stroke play qualifier.

Also representing the Crimson and Cream at the Cotton States Invitational were rising redshirt sophomore Quade Cummins and rising sophomore Riley Casey. Cummins advanced to the second round of match play, where he fell to Johnson, 3 and 2. Casey missed the cut after finishing stroke play at 148 (+4).

Complete results from match play competition can be found here.