Courtesy of Oklahoma State Athletics
While the NCAA Men's Golf Championships are still two long months away, it's never too early for teams to get a taste of desert golf in anticipation of a trip to Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. in late May.
The Oklahoma State Cowboys laid waste to a field that included seven of the top-25 teams in the nation, including two other top-five programs, by winning the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Ariz. for the second straight year.
The Cowboys, ranked fifth in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin poll, blitzed OMNI Tucson National with a 53-under score of 811 to run away with the team title by 21 strokes over second-place Texas, which finished at 32-under 832. Third-ranked Pepperdine was third at 28-under, while No. 2 Oklahoma (-27) and host Arizona (-26) rounded out the top-five.
Oklahoma State's 53-under total of 811 set a new tournament scoring record while its margin of victory matched the previous best set in 2019 by Arizona State. It was the second win this spring and third this season for the Pokes, which also claimed team titles at the Carmel Cup and Amer Ari Invitational.
Oklahoma State's
Eugenio Lopez Chacarra, who took a one-stroke lead into the final round over a trio of golfers, including his teammate
Aman Gupta, claimed his second individual title of the season. Lopez-Chacarra finished off the victory with a final round 64 (-8) that left him at 20-under 196, five strokes clear of Arizona's
Christian Banke.
His 20-under total of 196 broke the tournament's previous individual scoring record by three strokes.
With birdies on four of his first six holes, Lopez-Chacarra dropped an early gauntlet on his pursuers. He turned in 31 and picked up three more birdies on his inward nine en route to an 8-under round of 64. He made just two bogeys in 54 holes.
The win is Lopez-Chacarra's second of the season after his maiden victory at the
Amer Ari Invitational at Hapuna Golf Course in Hawaii last month.
A final round 69 left Gupta in solo third at 14-under 202 while Banke moved into second place after a third consecutive round of 67 left him at 15-under 201.
Three Pepperdine Waves -
Dylan Menante (-10; t-7th),
William Mouw (-10; t-7th) and
Joey Vrzich (-9; t-9th) - earned top-10 finishes. Menante carded a 64 on Saturday to match Lopez-Chacarra's low round of the day.
After competing in the Haskins Award Invitational, April 2-3, Oklahoma State will return to the desert to join the field at the ASU/Thunderbird Collegiate, April 15-16, at Papago Park Golf Club in Phoenix.
Oklahoma State Athletics contributed to this report.
ABOUT THE National Invitational Collegiate
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by the
University of Arizona. Team (best four scores of five
players each day) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information