NCAA MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS SCOTT WRIGHT AND CAMERON JOURDAN, STAFF WRITERS Cowboys hold onto second in front of growing crowds
STILLWATER — As Viktor Hovland waited in the 14th fairway, the gallery ahead of him erupted as Oklahoma State teammate Matthew Wolff drained a birdie putt.
Throughout Karsten Creek Golf Club, massive cheers and loud applause echo along the fairways and above the trees. It’s nearly impossible to tell where it’s coming from, but there’s no mistaking whose fans are making it.
Oklahoma State fans have shown up to the NCAA men’s golf championship in droves, following players closely on the fairways and anxiously awaiting as they line up their putts.
Hundreds followed as the Cowboys posted a team score of 3-underpar 285 on Sunday, holding onto second place with a 10-under total, three shots behind Duke.
During the weekend rounds, there was minimal room to see the Cowboys parade down the 18th fairway. Fans gathered on the hill to the right of the 18th green while others shuffled across the fairway to get a good look at the closing hole.
“It’s pretty cool, and it adds a lot of pressure,” Hovland said. “There’s a lot more pressure than if there is no one out there. I feel like I did a pretty good job of just focusing on the shot and didn’t really look around me too much.”
As soon as Hovland striped his tee shot on the 14th hole, a fan behind him screamed “Dilly Dilly.” When he was on the green attempting his birdie, another urged the ball to “Get in the hole.”
At one point, Texas Tech’s Adam Blomme asked Wolff whether the Cowboys always sported the crowd support. Wolff told Blomme that Saturday’s crowd was even bigger.
“(The crowd) just makes it so much fun to play,” OSU coach Alan Bratton said. “These kids don’t get to do that very often. We’ve talked about how it’s going to happen, and the fans delivered.”
Wolff and fellow freshman Austin Eckroat each said there have been times where they were shaking over shots because of the extra sets of eyes watching their every move. The crowd gives golfers space and remains silent when they make their shots, but there’s no hiding the train of people following each Cowboy.
The crowd’s magnitude comes into shape when players cross the bridge that connects the 18th tee box and the fairway. When rounding the corner, there’s a stampede of patrons behind them and a sea of orange encasing the right side of the green.
With every Cowboy who finishes their round, the gallery near the green amasses. When Eckroat completed his round, about 1,000 fans were applauding him and OSU’s play through three rounds.
“We don’t get that anywhere else,” Eckroat said. “The galleries are awesome. It has definitely made this event way better than it already was. It’s a little nerve-racking, but it’s also exciting.”