Sooners Open Season at Carmel Cup

NORMAN — The No. 3 Oklahoma men's golf team will begin the 2018-19 season this weekend at the eighth annual Carmel Cup. The three-day, 54-hole tournament will take place this Friday-Sunday at the iconic par-72, 6,828-yard Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif.

The event features eight squads, five of which are ranked in the top 25 of the Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll. The Sooners are starting the year at No. 3, matching its best preseason ranking under 10th-year head coach Ryan Hybl.

Each team will compete with six golfers, and the low five scores will count toward the team total each round. OU's lineup for the Carmel Cup will feature seniors Blaine Hale and Brad Dalke, redshirt junior Quade Cummins, juniors Riley Casey and Garrett Reband and freshman Logan McAllister.

Three Sooners in OU's six-player lineup recorded top-25 finishes a year ago at the Carmel Cup. Reband took sole possession of third place with a three-round 203 (-13), his best 54-hole total in his OU career.

The Sooners' tee times are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. CT on Friday, and they will be paired with Mississippi State, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt.

THE FIELD

(BUSHNELL GOLFWEEK COACHES POLL RANKINGS IN PARENTHESES)

Oklahoma State (1)

Oklahoma (3)

Vanderbilt (5)

Texas Tech (15)

Arkansas (17)

TCU

Georgia

Mississippi State

OU LINEUP

Quade Cummins, Redshirt Junior: Appeared in 10 events, earning six top-10 finishes last season ... Earned a share of third place carding a 209 (-4) at the Puerto Rico Classic, marking his second career top-5 finish ... Made the Big 12 All-Tournament Team tying for seventh overall at 286 (+6)... Finished third at The NCAA Norman Regional, recording a 54-hole score of 208 (-8) ... Division I PING All-America honorable mention selection ... All-Region pick by the GCAA.

Blaine Hale, Senior: Named a 2018 Division I PING All-America honorable mention selection ... Competed in 12 team events last season ... Recorded five top-10 finishes ... Recorded OU's lowest score in the final round of the Big 12 Championship with an even-par 72... Finished 4th at The NCAA Norman Regional shooting a 54-hole score of 209 (-7).

Brad Dalke, Senior: Competed in 13 team events ... Set OU single-season record for stroke average (70.97) in 2017-18 ... Second-team PING Division I All-American … All-Big 12 selection … Posted 14 rounds in the 60s last season … Tied for seventh at the 2018 Big 12 Championships … Made the match play competition at the 2018 U.S. Amateur.

Riley Casey, Junior: Competed in seven team events in 2017-18 ... Carded a three-day total of 208 (-5) at the Nike Collegiate Invitational, ranking as his lowest 54-hole score as a Sooner ... Recorded three rounds in the 60s, including a career-low 67 (-4) in the second round of the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational ... Competed as an individual at the Puerto Rico Classic finishing in first place at 215 (-1).

Garrett Reband, Junior: Competed in 10 team events ... Had career-best weekend at the Carmel Cup, taking third place at 203 (-13), his best 54-hole total as a Sooner and first top-5 finish at OU ... Competed as an individual at the Puerto Rico Classic, tying for third at 215 (-1) … Carded a par-72 after making par on every hole in the first round of the NCAA Norman Regional, finishing the tournament in 11th place.

Logan McAllister, Freshman: Won the 2016 and 2017 Oklahoma Junior Boys Stroke Play Championship … 2017 Second Team Rolex Junior All-American … Set the course record with a 63 in the second round of the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass … Finished in a tie for second at the 2017 Junior Players Championship … Won the 2016 AJGA Oak Tree Championship.

THE COURSE

The 6,828-yard, par-72 Pebble Beach Golf Links serves as the course for the Carmel Cup. GolfDigest called Pebble Beach "America's No. 1 Public Golf Course." Located on the shores of California's Monterrey Peninsula, Pebble Beach hosts a yearly PGA Tour event and the annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The course has also hosted four U.S. Amateurs and five U.S. Opens, most recently in 2010. The U.S. Open is scheduled at Pebble Beach in 2019.

FORMAT

Fifty-four holes will be played over three days. The Sooners' tee times begin at 9 a.m. CT on Friday from hole No. 1, and the team will be paired with Mississippi State, Texas Tech and Vanderbilt.

WEATHER FORECAST

Friday: Mostly sunny with a high of 63 degrees and wind out of the northwest at 10 mph. Ten percent chance of rain.

Saturday: Partly cloudy with a high of 62 degrees and wind out of the northwest at 11 mph. Ten percent chance of rain.

Sunday: : Partly cloudy with a high of 62 degrees and wind out of the northwest at 12 mph. Ten percent chance of rain.

OU'S CARMEL CUP HISTORY

This appearance marks the Sooners' fifth consecutive season beginning at the Carmel Cup. Last year, OU finished in third place with a three-round 1047 (-33).