Gotterup, Welch Lead OU on Day One in Tucson

	Team	1	2	3	Score
1.	² Oklahoma State	266	269	-	535 (-41)
2.	Arizona	277	279	-	556 (-20)
T3.	¹ Oklahoma	283	275	-	558 (-18)
T3.	New Mexico	271	287	-	558 (-18)
T5.	⁹ Pepperdine	283	277	-	560 (-16)
T5.	¹² Texas	280	280	-	560 (-16)

	OU Golfers	1	2	3	Score
8.	Gotterup	69	67	-	136 (-8)
T12.	Welch	70	68	-	138 (-6)
T23.	McAllister	73	68	-	141 (-3)
T46.	Lorenz (I)	68	76	-	144 (E)
T46.	Goodman	72	72	-	144 (E)
T46.	Campbell Jr.	72	72	-	144 (E)

TUCSON, Ariz. — Redshirt senior Chris Gotterup shined for OU men's golf Friday in the first two rounds of the Men's NIT to sit inside the top 10 entering the final day of play.

Gotterup (8, -8) posted back-to-back rounds in the 60s to grab eighth place thru 36 holes at the two-day, 54-hole tournament held annually at the Catalina Course at Omni Tucson National. The Sooner led Oklahoma (T3, -18) on the day as the Sooners hunt for their 27th top-three finish in their last 28 events.

No. 1 Oklahoma struggled early in the event, posting just a 5-under card in the first round of the day to sit in a tie for ninth thru 18. But head coach Ryan Hybl's team returned to form in the afternoon session, looking more like the team that had won three consecutive tournaments entering the week. Three Sooners posted birdies in their first two holes to kick off the afternoon, creating momentum that carried them through the round. A second-round 275 (-13) moved the Crimson and Cream into a tie for third entering Saturday's final round.

Gotterup led the way, catching fire in the second round by posting three birdies and an eagle over 13 holes before closing with a pair of bogeys evened out by two more birdies to cash in a 67 (-5). His first-round card of 69 (-3) has him at -8 on the week and four back of the lead.

Patrick Welch (T12, -6), who won medalist honors at Southern Highlands, improved on his opening-round score of 70 (-2) by signing for six birdies en route to an afternoon 68 (-4).

Matching Welch's 68 was Logan McAllister (T23, -3). The senior All-American struggled in the morning session and signed for his first over-par round since last fall's East Lake Cup, when he closed with a 73 (+1). However, he responded in the afternoon by firing a clean card powered by four birdies to move into a tie for 23rd.

Drew Goodman and Stephen Campbell Jr. used back-to-back 72s (E) to share 46th.

The Sooners trail host Arizona (2, -20) by two strokes as No. 2 Oklahoma State (1, -41) leads the field.

Pairing and live scoring are available on Golfstat.com.