Wildcats Upset Oklahoma on First Day of Big 12 Match Play
Oct 11, 2019 | Men's Golf
HOCKLEY, Texas– The Kansas State men's golf team notched three key points as it upset Oklahoma, 4-2-0, during Friday's afternoon session of the Big 12 Match Play Tournament at the 7,007-yard, par-71 Club at Houston Oaks in Hockley, Texas.
The 10th-seeded Wildcats, behind head-to-head wins from juniors George Clarke and Kyle Vance, as well as sophomore Will Hopkins and freshman Tim Tillmanns, overcame some adverse conditions to beat the second-seeded Sooners after an off session on Friday morning.
"I'm really proud of these guys," head coach Grant Robbins said. "They went out in some very tough conditions, stayed patient, played their game and were able to get the win over a very talented Oklahoma team. We have a quick turnaround and need to get ourselves ready to play a hot Kansas team (Saturday) morning."
Clarke, starting on the back nine, used an eagle and a birdie on back-to-back holes to break a tie en route to defeating Thomas Johnson, 3&1. Vance, who played with Clarke, parred the par-3 seventh to take the lead. He clinched his match against Patrick Welch (2&1) with another par on the next hole. Tillmanns, in his Wildcat debut, came back from a three-hole deficit to win his match, 2&1, against Jake Holbrook. The freshman from Germany started on No. 11 and won the last four holes of the front nine to do so. Hopkins, who played in this tournament last season, led his match for 11 holes en route to a 4&2 victory over Garett Reband.
Freshman Riccardo Leo continued his stretch of playing well, but came up short against the Sooners' Quade Cummins, 5&3. Senior Jacob Eklund fell to Oklahoma's Logan McAllister, 1UP, in a match that saw neither golfer lead by more than one hole.
K-State, with three points going into day two of the match play tournament on Saturday, is tied with Baylor for second in Pool B and three points behind Kansas.
The Wildcats will face the seventh-seeded Jayhawks on Saturday morning. Kansas defeated Oklahoma in the morning session on Friday and won over Baylor in the afternoon session. On Saturday afternoon, K-State will take on third-seeded Baylor, which topped Oklahoma State in the morning session.
Players Mentioned
