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Big 12 Championship
K-State’s Gandon Claims Big 12 Individual Co-Championship
Apr 25, 2018 | Men's Golf
TULSA, Okla. – Kansas State junior men's golfer Jeremy Gandon took home the Wildcats' first individual medalist honor in 67 years as he tied for the title at the 2018 Big 12 Championship at the par-70 Southern Hills Country Club on Wednesday.
It was K-State's first individual conference championship since Graham Hunt won the Big Seven Championship in 1951. He finished in a four-way tie for fourth place at 3-over par 283 following a 2-over par 72 in the final round. He tied with Oklahoma's Grant Hirschman, Oklahoma State's Kristoffer Ventura and Texas' Doug Ghim, the latter who was the low amateur at the Masters earlier this month.
"I played very solid all tournament," said Gandon. "I am glad to win, especially after my freshman year, when I had a shot to win the Big 12. This is probably the best field we play, and there are some good players. It is pretty exciting to play against those guys and compete. It pumped me up a little bit and made me play better."
Starting on hole No. 10, Gandon collected four birdies in the back nine with three bogeys. After a bogey on No. 3, Gandon birdied No. 4 and held a two-stroke lead with two holes left, but the junior had a double-bogey on No. 8 and a bogey on No. 9 to drop out of the top spot.
Gandon, along with Ghim and Ventura watched the scoreboard as Hirschman finished up, and the Sooner had a bogey on the final hole to create the four-way tie atop the board.
"I am very proud of Jeremy," head coach Grant Robbins said. "To claim a share of the individual title in a conference like the Big 12 is a huge accomplishment. He played some exceptional golf all week."
As a team, K-State finished in 10th place at 70-over par 1,190, falling a spot on the final day. The Wildcats finished three strokes behind West Virginia
"As a team, outside of Jeremy, we played poorly," Robbins said. "It was a disappointing finish, but we have a very good group of guys. I am proud of the way they carry themselves and represent K-State. Hopefully they will learn from this and it will motivate them to work even harder over the summer. If they can do that, then we have a chance to do special things next year."
Roland Massimino dropped three spots on the leaderboard and finished in a tie for 30th at 15-over par 295. Ben Fernandez, JC Campbell and Jacob Eklund each fell a spot on the final day. Fernandez tied for 45th at 27-over par 307, Campbell tied for 47th at 30-over par 310, and Eklund finished in 50th place at 40-over par 320.
Third-ranked Oklahoma held on to the top spot on the team leaderboard as the Sooners won by eight strokes at 19-over par 1,139.
Big 12 Championship
Southern Hills Country Club
Tulsa, Okla.
Par 70
Team Scores: 1. Oklahoma 294-277-281-287—1139 (+7); T2. Oklahoma State, 295-279-284-289—1147 (+27); T2. Texas, 289-288-281-289—1147 (+9); 4. Iowa State, 290-279-285-296—1150 (+30); 5. Baylor, 293-288-280-296—1157 (+37); 6. Kansas, 301-284-294-287—1166 (+46); 7. Texas Tech, 295-289-294-293—1171 (+51); 8. TCU 298-290-286-301—1175 (+55); 9. West Virginia, 303-288-297-299—1187 (+67);
10. Kansas State, 305-289-289-307—1190 (+70).
Top Individuals: T1. Jeremy Gandon, K-State, 71-69-71-72—283 (+3); T1. Doug Ghim, Texas, 71-69-70-73—283 (+3); T1. Grant Hirschman, Oklahoma, 75-67-68-73—283 (+3); T1. Kristoffer Ventura, Oklahoma State, 71-72-71-69—283 (+3); T5. Scottie Scheffler, Texas, 71-75-69-70—285 (+5); T5. Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma State, 76-69-70-70—285 (+5).
Other K-State Individuals: T30. Roland Massimino, 73-73-73-76—295 (+15); T45. Ben Fernandez, 80-74-73-90—307 (+27); T47. JC Campbell, 81-73-77-79—310 (+30); 50. Jacob Eklund, 86-76-72-86—320 (+40).
It was K-State's first individual conference championship since Graham Hunt won the Big Seven Championship in 1951. He finished in a four-way tie for fourth place at 3-over par 283 following a 2-over par 72 in the final round. He tied with Oklahoma's Grant Hirschman, Oklahoma State's Kristoffer Ventura and Texas' Doug Ghim, the latter who was the low amateur at the Masters earlier this month.
"I played very solid all tournament," said Gandon. "I am glad to win, especially after my freshman year, when I had a shot to win the Big 12. This is probably the best field we play, and there are some good players. It is pretty exciting to play against those guys and compete. It pumped me up a little bit and made me play better."
??Big 12 Champion. Jeremy Gandon shoots 3-over 283, ties with three others for individual crown at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa. ?????#kstatemgolf #big12golf pic.twitter.com/Kn9nbQbWSA
— K-State Men's Golf (@KStateMGolf) April 25, 2018
Starting on hole No. 10, Gandon collected four birdies in the back nine with three bogeys. After a bogey on No. 3, Gandon birdied No. 4 and held a two-stroke lead with two holes left, but the junior had a double-bogey on No. 8 and a bogey on No. 9 to drop out of the top spot.
Gandon, along with Ghim and Ventura watched the scoreboard as Hirschman finished up, and the Sooner had a bogey on the final hole to create the four-way tie atop the board.
"I am very proud of Jeremy," head coach Grant Robbins said. "To claim a share of the individual title in a conference like the Big 12 is a huge accomplishment. He played some exceptional golf all week."
As a team, K-State finished in 10th place at 70-over par 1,190, falling a spot on the final day. The Wildcats finished three strokes behind West Virginia
"As a team, outside of Jeremy, we played poorly," Robbins said. "It was a disappointing finish, but we have a very good group of guys. I am proud of the way they carry themselves and represent K-State. Hopefully they will learn from this and it will motivate them to work even harder over the summer. If they can do that, then we have a chance to do special things next year."
Roland Massimino dropped three spots on the leaderboard and finished in a tie for 30th at 15-over par 295. Ben Fernandez, JC Campbell and Jacob Eklund each fell a spot on the final day. Fernandez tied for 45th at 27-over par 307, Campbell tied for 47th at 30-over par 310, and Eklund finished in 50th place at 40-over par 320.
Third-ranked Oklahoma held on to the top spot on the team leaderboard as the Sooners won by eight strokes at 19-over par 1,139.
Big 12 Championship
Southern Hills Country Club
Tulsa, Okla.
Par 70
Team Scores: 1. Oklahoma 294-277-281-287—1139 (+7); T2. Oklahoma State, 295-279-284-289—1147 (+27); T2. Texas, 289-288-281-289—1147 (+9); 4. Iowa State, 290-279-285-296—1150 (+30); 5. Baylor, 293-288-280-296—1157 (+37); 6. Kansas, 301-284-294-287—1166 (+46); 7. Texas Tech, 295-289-294-293—1171 (+51); 8. TCU 298-290-286-301—1175 (+55); 9. West Virginia, 303-288-297-299—1187 (+67);
10. Kansas State, 305-289-289-307—1190 (+70).
Top Individuals: T1. Jeremy Gandon, K-State, 71-69-71-72—283 (+3); T1. Doug Ghim, Texas, 71-69-70-73—283 (+3); T1. Grant Hirschman, Oklahoma, 75-67-68-73—283 (+3); T1. Kristoffer Ventura, Oklahoma State, 71-72-71-69—283 (+3); T5. Scottie Scheffler, Texas, 71-75-69-70—285 (+5); T5. Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma State, 76-69-70-70—285 (+5).
Other K-State Individuals: T30. Roland Massimino, 73-73-73-76—295 (+15); T45. Ben Fernandez, 80-74-73-90—307 (+27); T47. JC Campbell, 81-73-77-79—310 (+30); 50. Jacob Eklund, 86-76-72-86—320 (+40).
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
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