OU men's golf advances to 12th straight NCAA Championship

For Ryan Hybl, regionals are always the most stressful part of OU’s season. 

“Someone check my blood pressure,” the Oklahoma head coach said as he walked off Jimmie Austin Golf Course Wednesday. 

But his team showed no signs of stress down the stretch on Wednesday, after a shaky start to the back nine on the final day of regionals. Instead, they combined for six birdies on the final three holes — including four on 18 — to finish second at the Norman regional and advance to their 12th consecutive NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

“We got out to such a perfect start today,” Hybl said. “And then all of a sudden – 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 – we just didn’t look like we knew what we were doing… I’m watching this go down and we’re literally withering away in front of my eyes. But really thankful for the dig-in and the grittiness of our guys to finish off a round no matter how bad things are going. It’s always impressive to me whenever we can do that.” 

OU finished at -25 over the three days, just three shots back of Alabama who won the regional. Redshirt senior Patrick Welch (E), redshirt junior Jake Holbrook (+2), junior Ben Lorenz (-6), sophomore Drew Goodman (-5), and freshman Jase Summy (-1) were the Sooners’ five golfers on Wednesday. 

The five played in front of an impressive home crowd. And while they’ve played Jimmie Austin more than any of their competitors, they could feel the pressure. 

Great turnout for the Norman Regional. Well done Jimmie Austin. pic.twitter.com/PFUZjSbpGz

— Eddie Radosevich (@Eddie_Rado) May 17, 2023

“Playing at home is always really interesting,” Hybl said. “When you have space, it’s one of the best things ever. When you don’t have space, everybody out here basically has Oklahoma Sooner t-shirts and hats and shirts there’s actually maybe that more stress piled up. Again, I was very impressed with our guys down the stretch because they could feel it. They knew what was going on and to finish the way that they did was fantastic.” 

Lorenz and Goodman led the way for Oklahoma Wednesday, as they have most of the season. On Wednesday, Lorenz shot a 66 and Goodman a 67. Lorenz was a -10 and Goodman was a -13 for the week with Lorenz finishing third and Goodman second individually. 

“Kudos to them and their play this week,” Hybl said of Lorenz and Goodman. “We know at regionals you have to have guys step up to have a chance to win. And we have two guys that played tremendous golf all week long. Just really excited about where those guys’ games are at.” 

Goodman went shot-for-shot Wednesday with Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, who won the regional and is ranked the No. 1 amateur player in the world.

For Goodman, who finished fifth at the Big 12 Championships two weeks ago, he’s starting to play his best golf at the right time.

Sophomore Drew Goodman tees off on 18.
That’ll do. #Sooners pic.twitter.com/lKORvZpcbZ

— George Stoia III (@GeorgeStoia) May 17, 2023

“I feel good,” Goodman said. “I played well at Big 12s and played well here. But obviously, I really wanted to win today. That’s something I haven’t really been able to do in college yet. So I’m a little bummed right now. Obviously losing to Ludvig is probably the best person in college golf that you could lose to right now. He’s the No. 1 amateur in the world and really, really good at golf. 

“So I’m really excited about where my game is at, but overall, we just needed to get the team through and we did that. Now, we have to go play well at the National Championship.”

If Goodman continues his good play along with Lorenz, the Sooners could make a serious run at the finals, which take play May 26-31. Welch’s experience, having played in match play in the semifinals last year, should also benefit the Sooners. And Summy, while only a freshman, might have the highest ceiling of the entire group when he plays consistently. Hybl will have to choose between Holbrook and Stephen Campbell Jr. for his fifth golfer, and it’s possible both will play in Arizona if OU continues to advance. 

It also helps that OU is familiar with Grayhawk. They’ve made it to match play in the last six finals. Last year, they lost in the semifinals to Arizona State. In 2021, they finished runner-up to Pepperdine. 

“We’ve been close the last couple of years,” Welch said. “We just haven’t gotten through yet. We’ve been knocking on the door for quite awhile now. We’re ready to get back after it.” 

Oklahoma is currently ranked 11th in the Bushnell/Golfweek DI Coaches Poll. Hybl said Wednesday he thinks his team is “trending in the right direction” after this week’s regional and winning the Big 12 two weeks ago. 

And anything can happen at Grayhawk, as OU knows, unexpectedly winning the national title in 2017. 

“We definitely think we can go compete for a national championship,” Goodman said. “We’ve already played at Big 12s and won. This week you’ve got to get through and we’ve done that. We would’ve obviously liked to win in front of our home fans. But as long as you’re going out there, the expectation is to go compete, go make match play and have a chance to win the national championship.” 

So for Hybl and OU, they’re happy to have what they say is the most stressful week behind them, advancing past regionals. Now, it’s time to have fun and make a run.

“Whenever you get through regionals, it’s a little bit of a sigh of relief,” Hybl said. “And this group can do something phenomenal next week at Grayhawk. They’re good enough to go win a national championship.”