SAN FRANCISCO — A dominant final-round performance powered Oklahoma and Sooner golfer Ben Lorenz across the finish line, as the Sooners and Lorenz swept the team and individual titles at the 53rd playing of The Goodwin on Saturday.
Trailing by a stroke entering the final round at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco, the Sooners (1, -18) erased the deficit early and pulled away from a 28-team field to win by six strokes, notching their third win of the year. Lorenz, tied for the 36-hole lead at the start of his round, used two birdies and an eagle on the back nine to secure his first collegiate win.
The 13th-ranked Sooners trailed No. 11 Georgia Tech (2, -12) by a stroke after 36 holes, but a birdie from starter Jase Summy evened the teams on the first hole. Drew Goodman holed out for eagle on the first hole shortly after, and the Sooners never looked back. A 3-under par front nine sent OU into the back with a one-shot lead over the Yellow Jackets. Patrick Welch, who played at Harding Park as a junior golfer, tallied four birdies in a row to grow the Oklahoma lead. Another birdie from the Aliso Viejo, Calif., product on the 16th, paired with an eagle from Lorenz on the 15th, clinched the tournament as the Sooners cruised to the day’s lowest round, 274 (-6), sweeping the team and individual titles.
Lorenz (1, -9), a junior from Peoria, Ariz., was tied with Washington’s Bo Peng at the start of the day at 6-under par for the week. The Sooner dropped into second after a bogey on the par-5, 600-yard fifth hole, but a string of pars and a birdie on the ninth got him back into a tie. A birdie on the 11th, followed by his third birdie of the day on No. 14, moved him in front of Peng and Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht with four holes to play. The Sooner all but clinched the individual crown when he holed out from the fairway for eagle on the par-4 15th, placing him four up on the field with three holes outstanding. A bogey on the 16th was the only blemish down the stretch, as Lorenz’s eagle proved the difference as he defeated Lamprecht by two shots. The Sooner’s win marked the first of his career, besting his previous top finish of T2 at the 2023 Puerto Rico Classic.
Patrick Welch (T5, -4) opened his week with a 75 at the par-70 course in Thursday’s opening round. But a 66 (-4) Friday and thrilling 65 (-5) on Saturday moved him up from T111 after 18 holes into a T5 finish on Saturday night, the largest 36-hole jump for a Sooner in at least the last six seasons. A model of consistency, Stephen Campbell Jr. (T16, E) fired rounds of 69-71-70 to finish at even-par for 16th in San Francisco. Jase Summy and Drew Goodman shared 48th at 4-over. Playing unattached from the OU lineup, Matthew Troutman joined Summy and Goodman in 48th.
The win marked the 38th of the Ryan Hybl era, which started in 2009. It’s the third team victory of the season, as the Sooners won the Puerto Rico Classic and Ka’anapali Classic earlier this year. With the win, Oklahoma has now won at least three different events in six consecutive full seasons, the longest streak in program history. The Sooners have won an astonishing 11 of their last 20 stroke-play events dating back to last season.
Awaiting the Sooners is one final regular season tune-up as Hybl’s team heads to West Lafayette, Ind., for The Boilermaker, slated for April 15-16 at the Boilermaker Golf Complex. Following that event, Oklahoma will look to defend its Big 12 championship when it heads to Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan., April 24-26.