Bedlam match play could come Tuesday
STILLWATER — Bedlam match play could happen Tuesday.
Although there is no guarantee, if there is going to be a Bedlam meeting in match play, it’s going to happen in the semifinals.
Host and top-ranked Oklahoma State garnered the first seed and will face Texas A&M on Tuesday morning in the quarterfinals. Oklahoma, which is ranked third, will face Auburn in the 4-5 matchup. The winner of each match will face each other in the semifinals.
The talk all season has been about whether the Sooners could defend their national title on the Cowboys’ course while going through the home team. They might get their chance Tuesday, but it wasn’t easy getting there.
Throughout the fourth round of the final round of stroke play Monday at the NCAA men's championships, the Sooners hovered at or below the cutline. Putts weren’t falling, shots were going awry and the fans were timid, wondering whether the magic was going to appear in Stillwater.
Then OU made the turn.
“These guys played a phenomenal back nine,” OU coach Ryan Hybl said. “We were not playing very good on the front. We had some guys struggling 3-, 4-, 5-over par, and that back nine is very difficult. The wind was blowing around. I thought the hole locations today were much more difficult than what they've been all week, and these guys just dug in their heels and made some birdies when we needed to, and it's just a credit to them and their hard work and their belief system.”
The Sooners shot even par on the back nine with junior Brad Dalke leading the way, as he carded three birdies to shoot a 34 on the inward side.
Dalke said Monday’s round was the most pressure filled one of the season, but it didn’t affect his performance.
The Cowboys, however, have played like the No. 1 team this week.
OSU finished as the only team not over par following stroke play, shooting even-par after four days.
The catch is, during the match play era dating to 2009, no top seed has won the coveted trophy.
OSU’s 10th title came in 2006, and the Cowboys haven’t been able to crack the match play curse since.
OSU senior Kristoffer Ventura said the team’s focus is changing that narrative.
"My focus, and I know my teammates' focus, will be just the guy in front of us tomorrow on the first tee, and we're gonna try to kick their a**,” Ventura said.
The galleries will be packed, and when the team’s tee off at 7:50 a.m., both will be looking forward to the possibility of a hyped Bedlam matchup.
Texas A&M is the second-ranked team in college golf, so the Cowboys can’t be looking too far ahead or there won’t be a Bedlam matchup. The Sooners face a top-10 opponent themselves, but Hybl said there isn’t added expectations on his squad.
“I've gotten that question a lot this week about the pressure of defending. That was a year ago. I mean, this morning on the driving range, I haven't had that feeling since this time last year, and I don't think these guys have felt that, either.
“This week, we’re not the favorite. The pressure isn’t on us.”