Sooners in Sixth After 36 Holes in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. – The third-lowest afternoon round of the day powered No. 14 Oklahoma into sixth place after 36 holes at the Augusta Haskins Award Invite on Saturday.

The Sooners wrapped up the opening, 36-hole day at 1-over par, seven back of second place entering Sunday's final round. True freshman Ryder Cowan sits in 10th at 2-under par after day one at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.

Top-ranked North Carolina (1, -16) holds a 10-shot lead over the field after four of its five golfers got into the red. Illinois' Jackson Buchanan (1, -8) leads the individual race by three strokes – the event winner receives a PGA Tour exemption.

The Sooners (6, +1) carded a 5-over 293 at the par-72 track in Saturday's morning round, placing them eighth after 18 holes. But a 4-under 284 in the afternoon, the field's third-lowest second-round score, bumped the Crimson and Cream into sixth place.

Cowan (T10, -2) used rounds of 72-70 to finish at 2-under on the day. He opened with a trio of birdies over his first seven holes but faltered down the stretch in round one to finish even par. Starting off the afternoon for OU, he opened with a birdie and finished with three additional birdies paired with just one bogey to get in the red. Cowan is fresh off a fifth-place finish at the Pauma Valley Invite.

Stephen Campbell Jr. (T14, -1) joined Cowan under par, firing rounds of 72-71 to close day one at 1-under. The Richmond, Texas, product secured a team-high eight birdies on the day.

Luke Kluver (T25, +2) signed for 74-72 and is tied for 25th, while Ben Lorenz (T32, +3) and Drew Goodman (T39, +4) are in the top 40.

The Sooners tee off at 8:20 a.m. CT on Sunday with Illinois (5, -2) and Oklahoma State (4, -3). Scoring will be available on Golfstat.