No. 1 Sooners Look to Defend Title at Southern Highlands Collegiate

NORMAN — Fresh off a second-place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic, the No. 1-ranked Oklahoma men's golf team is set to take part in one of the toughest collegiate events in golf in the Southern Highlands Collegiate. The three-day, 54-hole tournament features nine ranked teams – including the top five teams in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Rankins.

Play begins Sunday at the par-72, 7,510-yard at the Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. The top-ranked Sooners will face No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Pepperdine, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Duke, No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 13 SMU and No. 19 Georgia along with New Mexico, USC, TCU, UCF, UCLA and UNLV.

OU opened the spring with a second-place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic behind a three-round score of 834 (-30). Four Sooners finished in the top 10 individually, led by a first-place finish from Garett Reband.

Oklahoma's lineup includes seniors Reband and Quade Cummins, along with sophomores Patrick Welch and Logan McAllister and freshman Jake Holbrook.

For the second year, the final round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate will be streamed live by College Golf Live. Coverage will begin at 1 p.m. CT on Tuesday on Golfweek.com and Golfstat.com. To watch, click here.

The individual champion of the Southern Highlands Collegiate will receive an exemption into the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, which will take place Oct. 8-11 at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.

THE FIELD (GOLFSTAT RANKINGS)

Oklahoma (1)
Georgia Tech (2)
Pepperdine (3)
Texas (4)
Duke (5)
Texas Tech (7)
SMU (13)
Georgia (19)
Florida (22)
New Mexico
Southern California
TCU
UCF
UCLA
UNLV

OU LINEUP

Garett Reband, Senior: Earned his first career win at the Puerto Rico Classic to open spring season … Collected four top-10 finishes in the fall ... Finished in third place at the Nike Collegiate Invitational Placed seventh at the Carmel Cup shooting a 65 in the opening round … Tied for eighth place at the Gopher Invitational … Leads the team with a 69.83 scoring average 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

Quade Cummins, Redshirt Senior: Tied for sixth at the Puerto Rico Classic … Posted a 62 in the third round to finish in 2nd at the Ka'anapali Classic ... Finished tied for 15th at the Nike Collegiate Invitational, posted best tournament round of the season ... Tied for 11th at both the Carmel Cup and Gopher Invitational … 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

Patrick Welch, Sophomore: Picked up his best career finish at the Puerto Rico Classic (T4) … Tied for 25th at the Ka'anapali Classic ... Tied for 36th at the Nike Collegiate Invitational … Tied for 31st at the Gopher InvitationalTied for 31st at the Gopher Invitational … Competed in nine events his freshman season … Four top-20 finishes last season … Tied for eighth place at Big 12 Championship with a 54-hole 210 (-2), earning all-tournament team honors … Tied for sixth in his first individual collegiate appearance at the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic … Plays crossed-handed

Jake Holbrook, Freshman: Had his first top 10 finish at the Puerto Rico Classic … Second time competing for the Sooners ... Finished in the top-25 at the Carmel Cup ... AJGA Champion ... Texas Student Athlete award winner.

Logan McAllister, Sophomore: Won the Puerto Rico Classic individual tournament … Earned first tournament victory at the Nike Collegiate Invitational posting a -11 (202) ... Played in three events his freshman year ... Had two rounds in the 60s ... Posted a 71.22 stroke average in the fall ... Posted a season-low 66 in the second round at Carmel Cup ... Tied for 22nd at Carmel Cup with a three-day 213 (-3) ... Finished with a 3-under 210 at the Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic.

HISTORY

The Sooners took home the team title last year firing an 850 (-14). Cummins led the team shooting a 211 (-5). Cummins made a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole to earn the team the victory. Grant Hirschman was the 2017 individual medalist.

THE COURSE

The Southern Highlands Collegiate will be played at the par-72, 7,510-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada.

FORMAT

Fifty-four holes will be played over three days. Tee times will begin at 11:00 a.m. CT on No.1 and No. 10.

WEATHER FORECAST

Sunday: Partly cloudy with a high of 64 degrees and wind out of the southwest at 30 mph.
Monday: Sunny with a high of 65 degrees and wind out of the north at 20 mph.
Tuesday: Sunny with a high of 72 degrees and wind out of the north at 14 mph.

LIVE STATS

Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.com.