Men's Golf Opens Season at Carmel Cup

Norman -- The No. 7 Oklahoma men's golf team is set to begin its season this weekend at the Carmel Cup. The three-day, 54-hole tournament will take place Friday-Sunday at the historic par-72, 6,828-yard Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif.

The Sooners claimed the team title at the Carmel Cup in 2018. Senior Garett Reband led the team, taking second place on the individual leaderboard after going bogey-free in his Sunday round.

The competitive event features eight squads, five of which are ranked in the top 20 of the Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll. The Sooners are starting the year inside the top-10 for the fourth consecutive time under 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 showcase seniors Quade Cummins, Garett Reband and Thomas Johnson, sophomore Blake Lorenz and freshmen Turner Hosch and Jake Holbrook.

While Lorenz, Hosch and Holbrook are making their team debuts, Cummins and Reband were part of the squad that took home the 2018 Carmel Cup title. The two then helped advance the Sooners to the match play competition at the NCAA Championship.

The Sooners' tee times are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. CT Friday. They will be paired with Georgia, Arkansas and Vanderbilt.

THE FIELD

(BUSHNELL GOLFWEEK COACHES POLL RANKINGS IN PARENTHESES)

Oklahoma State (4)

Vanderbilt (5)

Oklahoma (7)

Georgia (13)

Texas Tech (18)

Arkansas

TCU

Mississippi State

OU LINEUP

Quade Cummins, Redshirt Senior: Took home the title at the Pacific Coast Amateur this summer ... Competed in the 2019 U.S. Palmer Cup ... 2019 Division I PING All-America honorable mention selection ... Finished the 2018-19 season with five top-10 finishes ... Shot the third-lowest three-round score in program history at the Ka'anapali Classic with a 198 (-15) ... 2018 Division I PING All-America honorable mention selection and GCAA All-Region Pick

Garett Reband, Senior: 2019 Division I PING All-America honorable mention selection ... Four top-10 and seven top-20 finishes in the 2018-19 season ... Competed in 12 team events last season ... Took 11th at the NCAA Pullman Regional at 202 (-8) … Named to All-Tournament Team at Big 12 Championship, tying for eighth at 210 (-2) ... Finished second in the Carmel Cup posting a 200 (-16) including two rounds in the 60s

Thomas Johnson, Redshirt Senior: Competed in four events in the 2018-19 season ... Took home second in the Puerto Rico Individual Classic ... Earned eighth place at the Southern Highland Collegiate

Turner Hosch, Freshman: First time competing for the Sooners ... AJGA Rolex Junior All American ... Junior Presidents Cup team member

Jake Holbrook, Freshman: First time competing for the Sooners ... AJGA Champion ... Texas Student Athlete award winner.

Blake Lorenz, Sophomore: Competed in the individual event in Minnesota

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.

FORMAT

Fifty-four holes will be played over three days. The Sooners' tee times begin at 10 a.m. CT on Friday from hole No. 1, and the team will be paired with Georgia, Arkansas and Vanderbilt.

WEATHER FORECAST

Friday: Partly cloudy with a high of 65 degrees and wind out of the northwest at 12 mph. Ten percent chance of rain.

Saturday: Partly cloudy with a high of 65 degrees and wind out of the northwest at 11 mph. Twenty percent chance of rain.

Sunday: : Partly cloudy with a high of 67 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' sixth consecutive season beginning at the Carmel Cup. OU finished in third place with a three-round 1047 (-33) in 2017. In 2018, the Sooners finished in first with a three-round 1034 (-46).