Sooners Ready for Big 12 Championship in Tulsa

NORMAN — The No. 4 Oklahoma men's golf team begins postseason competition on Monday at the Big 12 Championship. The three-day, 72-hole tournament will take place April 23-25 (Monday-Wednesday) at the par-70, 7,151-yard Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

The championship will prove to be competitive, as five of the Big 12's 10 programs are currently ranked in the top 20 of Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, including No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 10 Baylor, No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 18 Texas.

The Sooners are coming into the postseason after finishing in third place at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational on April 14-15. Redshirt sophomore Quade Cummins was OU's top-finisher, earning sole possession of third place with a three-round 204 (-9).

OU's lineup for the Big 12 Championship will feature juniors Brad Dalke and Blaine Hale, seniors Grant Hirschman and Rylee Reinertson along with Cummins.

THE FIELD

(GOLFWEEK/SAGARIN RANKINGS IN PARENTHESES)

Oklahoma State (1)

Oklahoma (4)

Baylor (10)

Texas Tech (13)

Texas (18)

TCU (31)

Kansas (43)

Iowa State

West Virginia

Kansas State

PAIRINGS

FIRST ROUND PAIRINGS (WITH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SEED)

First tee

8 a.m. CT No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Oklahoma

8:45 a.m. CT No. 5 Texas, No. 6 TCU

9:30 a.m. CT No. 9 West Virginia, No. 10 Kansas State

10th tee

8:22 a.m. CT No. 3 Baylor, No. 4 Texas Tech

9:07 a.m. CT No. 7 Kansas, No. 8 Iowa State

OU LINEUP

Brad Dalke, Junior: Leads OU with a 70.25 stroke average … Fired a 66 (-5) in the second round at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational … Earned fourth top-5 finish of the season with a three-day 207 (-6) at The Goodwin … Won second individual tournament title of his career with a three-round 208 (-8) at the Lone Star Invitational … Selected to the U.S. Palmer Cup Team on March 14 … Named to the watch list for the 2018 Ben Hogan Award and the Haskins Award … Recorded a 69.85 stroke average during the fall season.

Grant Hirschman, Senior: Has a 71.11 stroke average this season … Finished with a three-day even-par 213, tying for 27th place at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational … Carded a season-low 66 (-5) to pick up his fifth top-10 finish at The Goodwin … Posted a 70 (-2) in the final round of the Lone State Invitational, finishing in third place at 210 (-6) … Finished in a share of 28th place with a three-day score of 219 (+3) at the Southern Highlands Collegiate … Took home fourth top-20 finish this season at the Puerto Rico Classic, finishing with a three-day total of 215 (+2).

Blaine Hale, Junior: Tied for 12th place at 209 (-4) at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational … Earned fifth top-10 finish of the season, claiming a share of seventh with an overall 208 (-5) at The Goodwin … Finished tied for 10th place at the Lone Star Invitational as an individual … Earned three top-10 finishes in the fall, while finishing with a 72.31 stroke average.

Quade Cummins, Redshirt Sophomore: Sooners' top-finisher at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational earning third place with a three-day 204 (-9) … Finished with an overall 209 (-4) at The Goodwin, matching his 54-hole career low … Tied for sixth place at the Lone Star Invitational, marking his second top-10 finish in his last three team events.

Rylee Reinertson, Senior: Claimed first individual win of his career at the ASU Individual Invitational with a three-day score of 205 (-8) … Finished with a 75 (+3) to total a 216 (E) at the Puerto Rico Classic individual tournament.

THE COURSE

The par-70, 7,151-yard Southern Hills Country Club serves as the site for the 2018 Big 12 Championship.

FORMAT

Seventy-two holes will be played over three days. The first round will begin Monday at 8 a.m. CT, and the second round will follow that afternoon. Tuesday will feature the third round, and the final round will be played on Wednesday.

WEATHER FORECAST

Monday: Most cloudy with a high of 66 degrees and winds from the north, northeast at 8 mph.

Tuesday: Partly cloudy with a high of 70 degrees and winds from the north, northwest at 8 mph.

Wednesday: Partly cloudy with a high of 68 degrees and winds from the north at 8 mph.

OU'S BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Last season, the Sooners finished fifth in the Big 12 Championship at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas, with a four-round 1185 (+65). Then-senior Max McGreevy was the Sooners' best finisher, earning fifth place with an overall 292 (+12). OU has 16 conference titles overall, with the most recent coming in 2006.

LIVE STATS

Live scoring will be available on Big12Sports.com and GolfStat.com.