Sooners Complete Comeback, Advance to NCAAs

	Team	1	2	3	Score
1.	²²Texas Tech	283	278	277	838 (-26)
T2.	¹²Arizona State	285	279	284	848 (-16)
T2.	Oregon State	281	275	292	848 (-16)
4.	¹Oklahoma	289	284	278	851 (-13)
5.	San Diego	296	275	281	852 (-12)

	OU Golfers	1	2	3	Score
T2.	Brightwell	66	70	70	206 (-10)
T21.	Reband	76	68	70	214 (-2)
T32.	McAllister	70	73	74	217 (+1)
T36.	Cummins	77	73	68	218 (+4)
SUB	Welch	80	-	-	80 (+8)
SUB	Lorenz	-	74	70	144 (E)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Oklahoma men's golf team erased a four-shot deficit over the final six holes at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional to punch its ticket to the NCAA National Championship for the 10th straight year.

The top-ranked Sooners fired a 278 (-10) in the final round to climb the leaderboard and overtake Texas A&M and San Diego on the 18th hole to finish fourth at 13-under for the week. With the fourth-place finish, Oklahoma will compete for an NCAA title at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., from May 28-June 2.

"Today was hopefully the start of something really special," 12th-year head coach Ryan Hybl said. "We didn't play very well the first two days and to come out here and shoot double-digits under par was absolutely phenomenal. To get four birdies on the last hole, which is what we needed, is great. I'm just so thankful for our guys and the work they've put in."

The Sooners, Aggies and Toreros were tied coming down the stretch, but four birdies on 18, including three from the redshirt senior All-Americans Garett Reband, Quade Cummins and Jonathan Brightwell, powered the Sooners to the finish line.

"For those seniors to play like that down the stretch and help us move on means everything to me," Hybl added. "I'll be honest with you, I started to tear up on the 18th green just because I was so happy. I didn't want our guys to miss out, I mean, those guys came back for moments like this."

Jonathan Brightwell (T2, -10) made the advancement-clinching birdie putt to finish his strong week at 10-under par and share runner-up honors. The redshirt senior, who punched his ticket to the first NCAA Championship berth of his career on Wednesday, was one of four Sooners in red numbers in the final round, firing a 70 (-2) to close.

"I came to Oklahoma for moments like this," Brightwell said. "This is why we're here and I've never been to nationals so it's a huge deal for me. It's hard to get through regionals, especially because we didn't have our best stuff."

It's the seventh top-10 finish of Brightwell's season but the first time as the runner-up. His approach on No. 18 put him about 40 feet from the pin, and he two-putted for birdie, sending the Sooners to Scottsdale and sending his teammates into a frenzy.

"The guys swarming me on 18 is a feeling that I'll never forget," Brightwell added. "These guys mean everything to me and so for me to deliver and help the team out is really special."

All-American Quade Cummins (T36, +2) led the way on Wednesday by posting a 68 (-4), including four birdies and no bogeys over his last 11 holes to keep the Sooners in the mix. The Weatherford, Okla., product played some of the steadiest golf all week, sinking 38 pars over 54 holes, second-most in the field en route to a T36 finish.

The final redshirt senior of the OU lineup, Garett Reband (T21, -2), carded a 70 (-2) to finish tied for 21st. The York, S.C., product birdied the final hole to move the Sooners one shot ahead of fifth.

Freshman Ben Lorenz (SUB, E) subbed in for Patrick Welch on Tuesday and carded a 2-over 74, but he responded with a 2-under 70 in Wednesday's final round, including a birdie on the 18th to guide the Sooners up the leaderboard.

"We decided to make the move to put Lorenz into the lineup because Patrick (Welch) just hasn't been feeling it great on the putting green," Hybl said. "We believe in Ben and trusted that he could get the job done. For him to come out today with all sorts of pressure and shoot a couple under par was the difference in us moving on."

Logan McAllister (T32, +1) closed his regional with a 74 (+2) to finish in a tie for 32nd. His rounds of 70 and 73 on Monday and Tuesday were counted and helped keep the Sooners within striking distance.

Top-seeded Oklahoma joins Texas Tech, Oregon State, Arizona State and San Diego to advance to Grayhawk out of the Albuquerque Regional. The Sooners are one of five Big 12 teams that will play for a national championship, as Oklahoma State, Texas and TCU will meet the Red Raiders and OU in the desert.

"Championship week is such a long, hard week," Hybl said about the upcoming challenge. "We really just need to get back home and work on our golf game. We didn't look very good this week. I'm glad we leave here feeling good because it's what this team needed. We're looking forward to the challenge and I know the guys are excited about the opportunity."

The Sooners will tee off in Scottsdale on May 28.