Cowboy Golf Falls In First Round Of Match Play at NCAA Championship

May 29, 2009

TOLEDO, Ohio - Oklahoma State's men's golf team saw its season come to an end on Friday with a 3-2 loss to Georgia in the first round of match play at the NCAA Championship at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

The match pitted the nation's top two teams against each other with the top-ranked Cowboys earning the No. 1 seed in the match play bracket after finishing 13 shots ahead of the field through 54 holes of stroke play. The Bulldogs entered as the second-ranked team in the country.

The tilt lived up to its billing with the squads splitting the first two matches, leaving the outcome in the hands of two of the nation's top players in OSU sophomore Rickie Fowler and Georgia senior Brian Harman.

The duo halved the first three holes before Fowler took the match's initial lead on the fourth hole with a par. The match went back to square twice over the next four holes before Fowler grabbed the lead again with a birdie at the ninth.

Fowler would maintain a 1-up lead over the next seven holes that included clutch birdies from both players at the 16th hole. However, Harman squared the match with a birdie at the 17th after Fowler's birdie attempt just missed.

At the par-4 closing hole, both players hit quality approach shots to provide solid birdie opportunities. After Fowler's attempt just slid by the hole, Harman drained an eight-foot putt for his third-straight birdie to take his first lead of the day and close out the match.

Georgia struck first after Adam Mitchell claimed a 5 and 3 win over Cowboy sophomore Kevin Tway. After halving the first four holes, Mitchell won Nos. 5, 6 and 7 to take command of the match. He held a 2-up lead through 12 before winning two of the next three to post the first team point.

OSU's two points on the day came courtesy of its two freshman in the lineup.

Peter Uihlein got the Cowboys on the board after knocking off Harris English, 4 and 3. After halving the first three holes, Uihlein's par on the fourth hole gave him a lead he would not surrender. He followed with wins on three of the next four holes to build a 4-up advantage. After losing the 14th, Uihlein closed out English with a par at the 15th hole.

The Bulldogs jumped back in front with Russell Henley's 2-up win over senior Trent Leon. Leon won the first hole and maintained his lead through five before seeing the match go back to square for the next three holes. The Dallas, Texas native won the ninth before Henley won the 11th and 12th en route to victory.

Morgan Hoffmann drew OSU even at 2-2 with his 4 and 3 win over Hudson Swafford. Hoffmann claimed the first two holes and held a 3-up lead after four. The Wyckoff, N.J., native made the turn with a 2-up advantage. Hoffmann extended the lead with wins at Nos. 11 and 12 before closing out the match by halving the par-5 15th hole.

The loss snapped the Cowboys' three-tournament winning streak. Overall, OSU finished the season with five tournament victories and seven individual medalists.

2009 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships Quarterfinal Results

No. 8 Georgia def. No. 1 Oklahoma State, 3-2

No. 5 Adam Mitchell (Georgia) def. No. 5 Kevin Tway (OSU), 5 & 3

No. 4 Peter Uihlein (OSU) def. No. 4 Harris English (Georgia), 4 & 3

No. 3 Russell Henley (Georgia) def. No. 3 Trent Leon (OSU), 2 up

No. 2 Morgan Hoffmann (OSU) def. No. 2 Hudson Swafford (Georgia), 4 & 3

No. 1 Brian Harman (Georgia) def. No. 1 Rickie Fowler (OSU), 1 up