Sooners Advance to National Championship

Quarterfinal vs. UI	Score
Brightwell def. Tadiotto, 3&2	1-0, OU
Dumont de Chassart def. Welch, 8&6	1-1 TIE
McAllister def. Ji, 2&1	2-1, OU
Cummins def, Kuhl, 2&1	3-1, OU
Feagles def. Lorenz, 4&3	3-2, OU

Semifinal vs. ASU	Score
Brightwell def. Puig, 1UP	1-0, OU
An Yu def. Reband, 5&4	1-1, TIE
Johnston def. Lorenz, 3&2	2-1, ASU
McAllister def. Anderson, 4&3	2-2, TIE
Cummins def. Sisk, 2&1	3-2, OU

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – After winning quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Tuesday, the Oklahoma men's golf team will look to claim its third national championship in program history when it meets Pepperdine in the NCAA final at Grayhawk Golf Club on Wednesday afternoon.

The Sooners, who knocked off fifth-seeded Illinois and top-seeded Arizona State on Tuesday, will get an East Lake Cup rematch with the Waves, except this time it will be with college golf's ultimate prize on the line. Pepperdine convincingly knocked off No. 6 Florida State and No. 2 Oklahoma State to get to the final.

"Just so excited for our guys in this moment," 12th-year head coach Ryan Hybl said after the semifinal win. "To watch Quade put in that putt right there and have a chance to play for a national championship is exactly why a guy like that came back."

Oklahoma, who won the title in 1989 and 2017, got match-play wins from the same cast in both matches on Tuesday as Jonathan Brightwell, Quade Cummins and Logan McAllister all went 2-0 on the day to send Oklahoma to the final. The three have combined for a 23-4 record in match play this season.

The Sooners opened the morning with a tight 3-2 win over Illinois that wasn't decided until the next-to-last hole. The contest started when Patrick Welch was downed 8&6 by Adrien Dumont de Chassart to put Oklahoma into an early 1-0 hole. OU would answer with a near hole-in-one from Jonathan Brightwell on the par-3 eighth after starting on the back nine. Brightwell's tee shot bounced off the pin, and the senior sunk a two-foot birdie putt to secure a 3&1 victory to tie the match. Ben Lorenz was dispatched 4&3 by Illinois' top player, Michael Feagles. Facing elimination and needing to win both remaining matches, Cummins and McAllister took over. After building a 3-up lead thru seven holes, McAllister found himself tied with Jerry Ji thru 15. The junior then buried a five-foot par putt on No. 7 and birdied No. 8 to knock off Ji 2&1 and even the team battle. Sixth-year player Quade Cummins took a two-hole lead on the fourth hole of his match and never surrendered it, holding off Tommy Kuhl to win 2&1 to send the Sooners to its first semifinal since 2017.

Facing top-seeded Arizona State in the semi, the Sooners dug a hole for themselves early once again. Garett Reband was downed 5&4 by fellow PGA Tour U honoree Chun An Yu and Lorenz was taken care of, 3&2, by Ryggs Johnston. The Sooners would once again need to find three wins from Cummins, Brightwell and McAllister.

"The 18th is such a tough hole and this course has really tested us all week," Brightwell, who transferred to OU from UNC-Greensboro last summer, said. "I knew that if I just got up-and-down that it would probably, hopefully, be enough to get the win for us and so I put a really strong chip onto the green and was able to help gets us one step closer."

The first point came from McAllister, who erased a one-hole deficit by winning four of five around the turn to claim a convincing 4&3 win over Mason Andersen. Up next was Jonathan Brightwell, who delivered a massive putt on the 18th green to halve the hole and hold off a late charge from All-American David Puig to win 1-up and even the leaderboard. The Sooners' fate rested on the hands of Quade Cummins, who served as the sixth man on the 2017 national championship team. The Weatherford, Okla., native dropped the 16th hole to allow Cameron Sisk to move to just one back. But the OU leader wouldn't be stopped on the 17th, which he drove 330 and onto the green in one while Sisk laid up and found the rough. A two-putt for birdie is all that Cummins would need to send Oklahoma to the final match, and he delivered by sinking a 5-footer to send the Sooner fans surrounding the green into a frenzy.

"This is why I came to OU and decided to come back," Cummins said. "We practiced so hard all season long and it's for moments like that. Not every place is like Oklahoma. You come to Oklahoma to win and for moments like this."

Hybl, who donned the same sweater vest he wore during the 2017 championship for the first time Tuesday, has returned Oklahoma to a national prominence as the Sooners are the nation's only team to appear in match play at the last five championships, and with the two wins on Tuesday, the team improves to 5-3 all-time in NCAA matches under the 12th-year leader. More importantly, a third national title on Wednesday would give Oklahoma the ninth most team title's in men's golf history.

Pepperdine is a familiar foe for Oklahoma as the two traded the nation's No. 1 spot in the fall after the Waves knocked off the Sooners 4-1 in the East Lake Cup finals. None of the matchups from that battle in Atlanta will be reprised in Wednesday's final, but the opportunity for redemption is still present.

"They got us pretty good last time we matched up with them," Cummins said. "We're not satisfied just getting to the finals. We came here with a goal in mind and that was to win. They're a great team, and we look forward to the chance to get them back."

The championship match is set to begin at 3:35 CT with live coverage starting at 4 CT on Golf Channel.

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.