OU Fourth, Goodman Fifth After Opening Round at SEC Championship

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Drew Goodman and Clark Van Gaalen sit inside the top 10 on the individual leaderboard as No. 6 Oklahoma holds sole possession of fourth place after the opening round at the SEC Championship. The Sooners are five shots clear of the 54-hole cut after posting a 6-under 274 on Wednesday.

Oklahoma (4, -6) began its round off the 10th tee at the par-70, 7,005-yard Seaside Course at Sea Island Golf Club. The championship spans five days, with teams playing 54 holes of stroke play Wednesday through Friday. The top eight squads then advance to match play on Saturday and Sunday to compete for the SEC title.

OU got off to a clean start, playing bogey-free golf through the first four holes to move into second place behind No. 2 Auburn, who fired a 16-under 264 on Monday to claim a seven-shot lead. The Sooners made the turn at 3-under, highlighted by Goodman's eagle on the par-5 17th, where Oklahoma went 5-under as a team. The back nine posed more challenges, but late birdies from Goodman, Van Gaalen and Ryder Cowan pushed OU to 6-under on the day.

Goodman (T5, -4) is tied for fifth and five strokes back of the individual leader, Texas A&M's Michael Heidelbaugh (-9). The senior All-American is chasing his first collegiate win in what has already been a standout career.

Van Gaalen (T10, -3) carded a 67 in his postseason debut. The freshman tallied four birdies and just one bogey to crack the top 10.

Cowan (T30, E) turned in an even-par 70. The sophomore, who finished in the top 10 at last year's Big 12 Championship, birdied the par-5 seventh to erase an early bogey and move into a tie for 30th.

Matthew Troutman (T40, +1) added the team's final counting score, logging 15 pars, second-most in the field.

Jase Summy (T52, +2) overcame a tough start on the front nine to finish with a 2-over 72.

The Sooners led the field on par-5 scoring, going 6-under on Seaside's two longest holes, and paced the championship with 67 pars on the day.

With 36 holes left before the cut to eight, Auburn leads the field by seven. No. 7 LSU and No. 17 Texas A&M are tied for second at 9-under. Oklahoma (-6) and No. 8 Florida (-5) round out the top five.

The Sooners return to the 10th tee Thursday at 7 a.m. CT, paired with Florida and Georgia. Georgia is still led by Chris Haack, who coached OU head coach Ryan Hybl when he played at UGA.

Live scoring is available on Golfstat, and SEC Network will televise match play rounds this weekend.

TEAM LEADERBOARD

1. No. 2 Auburn (-16)
T2. No. 7 LSU (-9)
T2. No. 17 Texas A&M (-9)
4. No. 6 Oklahoma (-6)
5. No. 8 Florida (-5)
6. Georgia (-4)
7. No. 20 South Carolina (-3)
T8. Mississippi State (-1)
----- 54-HOLE CUT -----
T8. No. 15 Alabama (-1)
T10. No. 1 Ole Miss (+1)
T10. Arkansas (+1)
T10. Kentucky (+1)
13. Missouri (+3)
T14. Tennessee (+6)
T14. No. 3 Texas (+6)
16. No. 18 Vanderbilt (+12)