Sooners in Second at NCAA Championship

	Team	1	2	3	4	Score
1.	³ Oklahoma St.	280	274	-	-	554 (-6)
2.	¹ Oklahoma	280	279	-	-	559 (-1)
3.	¹⁰Arizona St.	284	278	-	-	562 (+2)
4.	⁹Pepperdine	279	286	-	-	565 (+5)
T5.	⁸ Illinois	287	279	-	-	566 (+6)
T5.	⁶ N. Carolina	288	278	-	-	266 (+6)

	OU Golfers	1	2	3	4	Score
T5.	Brightwell	68	69	--	--	137 (-3)
T5.	Cummins	69	68	--	--	137 (-3)
T27.	Lorenz	71	71	--	--	142 (+2)
T34.	McAllister	72	71	--	--	143 (+3)
T116.	Reband	76	75	--	--	151 (+11)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Saturday at the NCAA Championship serves as the day before the first cut, and top-ranked Oklahoma was able to distance itself from the cut line with another strong round in the morning wave.

Oklahoma (2nd, -1) posted a 1-under 279 on Saturday to take hold of second place after the second round of the 72-hole plus match-play championship at the par-70 Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. The Sooners join leaders Oklahoma State (1st, -6) as the only two teams under par.

"We're under par, which is a great place to be," Hybl opened. "I feel like it's similar to yesterday though in the sense that we probably could've hit it better and gone lower, but we got under and that's what matters. We're in a great spot and we'll get a morning tee time tomorrow, which is basically what we played for today."

The Sooners have earned a strong position following day two, as they're 22 shots clear of 15th and 12 shots ahead of eighth. Following Sunday's round, the field will be cut from 30 to 15 and then from 15 to eight after Monday, setting up two days of match play to determine a champion.

Quade Cummins (T5, -3) led Oklahoma with a 68 (-2) on Saturday morning to move up 12 spots on the leaderboard and into a tie for fifth. The redshirt senior is one of just six players in the 151-player field to open the championship with two rounds in the 60s, making Oklahoma the only school with two players that have back-to-back rounds in the 60s, as Jonathan Brightwell matched Cummins.

"I played really solid golf both yesterday and today," Cummins said. "You have to take the pins on when you can out here. The greens are firm and fast enough where if you're coming out of the rough, you kind of just have to take your medicine and go do some work on the greens."

His birdie on the 18^th hole, which was host to only four birdies on Friday, moved him into the top five.

"The 18^th is by far the hardest hole out here because it's a converted par-five into a four," Cummins explained. "It all starts on the tee and if you don't hit a good drive, you're probably not going for the green in two. I had a good drive today and got pretty lucky on my second shot. I was trying to go pin-high left and left it short, but it was uphill and gave me a good look. I got the speed right and got the putt to go in."

Cummins currently sits in sixth in the PGA Tour U ranking after a strong season, but the All-American is only focused on the team goal this week.

"I'm not even worried about all of the individual stuff, it'll work itself out," Cummins added. "I've never really been one to worry about that. Don't get me wrong, it would be great to win individually, and we're all trying to do that but I'm trying to make the putts for the team. If I can give our team a chance to get into match play then I did my job."

Brightwell followed his 68 on Friday with a 1-under 69 on Saturday by posting a team-best 15 pars on the day. The All-American has tallied 25 pars through two rounds of action, tied with Cummins for the most on the team.

The redshirt senior, ranked No. 13 in the PGA Tour U ranking, has put himself in a solid position to lock in a top-15 spot as the NCAA Championship is the ranking's final event. Spots six thru 15 in the ranking give players status on the new Forme Tour that opens play in June.

"I thought Jonathan was really good today," Hybl said. "He will tell you that he left some out there today, and that's because he did truthfully - but he knows that and it's why he is a good player. He struck the ball so well and had quite a few putts that just didn't fall, but he's in a really good spot with his game and it's big for us. He did a great job."

Freshman Ben Lorenz (T27, +2) poured in a 71 (+1) for the second consecutive day to claim a share of 28th after 36 holes. The Arizona native sunk five birdies on the day but was set back by a double bogey and bogey on Nos. 15 and 18. His seven total birdies on the week match Brightwell and Cummins for most on the Sooners' roster.

Logan McAllister (T34, +3) used another strong day on the two par-five holes to hold steady in a tie for 41st after two rounds. The junior is the only player in the field to birdie both par-five holes in both rounds and tallied a 71 (+1) on Saturday.

Garett Reband (T114, +11) closed with a birdie and three pars to create some momentum heading into Sunday's third round.

The Sooners are set to tee off with Oklahoma State and host Arizona State (3rd, +2) at 8:10 a.m. CT on Sunday.

"We feel great heading into tomorrow and hopefully the rest of the week," Hybl said. "This is stuff that we've worked on all year as a squad. We have some things that we've got to work on and hopefully we can get some more putts to fall for us tomorrow."

Spectators are permitted based on local/state guidelines, which are subject to change. It is requested that spectators wear masks and follow physical distancing protocols, including remaining at least 15 yards away from student-athletes, coaches and other team personnel. Spectators must also keep distanced from tee boxes and greens. The event is free of charge.