Oklahoma State, Hammer win Big 12 in down-to-the-wire finish

Oklahoma State used three late birdies by Auston Eckroat and Bo Jin to win the Big 12 Conference Championship by one stroke over rivals Oklahoma and Texas on Monday at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan.

The third-ranked Cowboys finished at +9 1129 for the 72-hole event, top-ranked Oklahoma finished second at10-over while the sixth-ranked Longhorns claimed third at +11. Cole Hammer of Texas fired rounds of 70-74-65-67 to capture the individual title by one stroke over Oklahoma’s Quade Cummins and OSU’s Jin with a 4-under score of 276.

Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Texas, programs which have combined to win 16 national championships, began the final day of competition tied atop of the leaderboard at 16-over 856. Playing in the group ahead of the Cowboys and Longhorns, the Sooners entered the clubhouse with a one-shot lead over Oklahoma State at10-over 1130 but birdies by Eckroat on 16 and 17 and Jin on 17 were enough to lift the Cowboys to their 56th conference championship.

BO KNOWS! #okstate | #golfschool pic.twitter.com/LKliSMoO0s

— OSU Cowboy Golf (@OSUCowboyGolf) April 28, 2021

Oklahoma State’s title run was buoyed strong final rounds turned in by Eckroat, who carded a 5-under 65 at Prairie Dunes on Wednesday, Jin, who finished with a 68, and Eugenio Lopez-Chaccara, who shot a final round 69 despite a triple bogey on the par-5 17th hole.

After opening with rounds of 70 and 74, Hammer shot 8-under with rounds of 65 and 67 for his final 36 holes to claim the Big 12 individual title. The junior from Houston began the final day tied for the lead with Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg and Jin of Oklahoma State. After making five straight pars to begin his final round, Hammer ran off birdies on holes 6, 7 and 8. After dropping a shot on ninth, he moved to 4-under on his Wednesday card with birdies on holes 10 and 13. Back-to-back bogeys on 14 and 15 were eased with a birdie on the par-5 17th and an up-and-down from a greenside bunker on 18 for par sealed the title for the former top-ranked amateur in the world.

The champ. 🤘 pic.twitter.com/Bh8YeuhqEy

— Texas Men's Golf (@TexasMGolf) April 28, 2021

Cummins failed to make a tying birdie over the last four holes while Jin moved to within one stroke of the lead with a birdie on 17, but settled for a par on the last to finish one stroke off the pace. Aberg finished three back at 1-under 279.

The Big 12 will be well-represented at the upcoming NCAA Regionals when the field is announced on May 5on the GOLF Channel.