Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Big 12 Championship
Cowboy Golf Wraps Up Third Consecutive Big 12 Title
May 04, 2009 | Cowboy Golf
May 4, 2009
HUTCHINSON, Kan. - Behind the strength of a tournament-low round of 281, Oklahoma State's men's golf team clinched its third consecutive Big 12 Championship on Wednesday at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.
The top-ranked Cowboys entered the final round with a three-shot lead over Colorado through 54 holes. OSU was able to pull away from the field with a 1-over team score that included a pair of rounds in the 60s. The Cowboys finished with a 29-over total of 1,149 to best the Buffaloes' total of 1,163. Texas A&M finished third with a 1,167 score at the par-70, 6,700-yard layout.
The win marked the 52nd conference title in the 63-year history of the OSU program. The Cowboys have also produced seven of the 13 individual champions in the event. The 14-stroke victory was the second-largest margin of victory at the event, trailing only OSU's 20-stroke win last year.
Freshman Morgan Hoffmann fired a closing 66 to become the third consecutive Cowboy and seventh OSU player overall to earn Big 12 medalist honors. The Saddle Brook, N.J., native played his final 36 holes 6-under par to overtake Baylor's Bill Allcorn atop the leaderboard. Hoffmann finished at 4-under 276 for the tournament and three shots clear of the field.
After posting a bogey at the second, Hoffmann birdied the third and got into red figures with birdies at the seventh and ninth. The OSU rookie birdied the 10th to get to 3-under for the day and added his final birdie of the day four holes later. Hoffmann completed his bogey-free inward nine with four consecutive pars to sew up the squad's sixth individual win of the season. The victory was Hoffmann's third of the year, tying Jonathan Moore's school record for victories by a freshman.
"Yesterday's round was really when I started playing better," Hoffman said. "Because of the weather, most of the pins were the same as Tuesday, so that certainly played a part and it made the greens play softer. But overall it was just the consistency in my play that carried over to today that played the biggest factor."
Sophomore Rickie Fowler joined Hoffmann in red figures with a 69 to move up two spots into fifth place. The 2008 Big 12 champion finished the event with a 286 total. Fowler made the turn at 1-over, but also recorded two birdies and seven pars on his back nine to climb into the top five.
Freshman Peter Uihlein earned his third consecutive top 10, finishing ninth at 293 after carding a 75.
Senior Trent Leon moved into a tie for 12th with his low round of the tournament, signing for a 71 to finish at 296.
Junior Trent Whitekiller tied for 47th place at 308 after posting a 76.
The Cowboys will be back in action on May 14 when they being NCAA regional play.
