ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Behind
Jase Summy's record-breaking runner-up finish, No. 16 Oklahoma advanced to match play at the SEC Championship for the second consecutive season on Friday.
The Sooners (7, -13) battled the cut line throughout the final round but secured a seventh-place finish after 54 holes of stroke play at Sea Island Golf Club. Oklahoma earned the No. 7 seed and will face second-seeded No. 4 Florida in Saturday morning's quarterfinal.
"I'm proud of the fight from our group today," head coach
Ryan Hybl said. "We know we have to be better this weekend if we want to do something special, but I thought we were resilient down the stretch. We're excited to get into match play, where it's a new ballgame and anything can happen."
OU entered Friday's final round at the par-70 Seaside Course in fifth place but slipped down the leaderboard early as teams surged. The Sooners dropped to ninth, one shot outside the cut, before late birdies from All-Americans Summy and
Ryder Cowan pushed Oklahoma back inside the top eight. OU held off late charges from No. 5 Arkansas, No. 25 Georgia and South Carolina to secure its spot in match play.
Summy (2, -12), a senior from Keller, Texas, fired a 198 (-12), the lowest 54-hole score by a Sooner ever at a conference championship, to finish as runner-up. His total surpassed
Drew Goodman's previous school record of 199 (-11) set at last year's SEC Championship. Summy now owns 13 career top-five finishes and a program-record 54 rounds in the 60s. His 198 is tied for the fifth-lowest score in SEC Championship history. Entering match play, he holds a 7-3-2 career record in matches.
Cowan (T18, -5) added a top-20 finish with rounds of 62-71-72. The junior now has a team-high nine top-20 finishes in 12 events this season, including five in his last six tournaments. The Edmond, Okla., is 6-1-1 all-time in match play.
OU's remaining three golfers finished outside the top 50. PJ Maybank (+3) tied for 52nd,
Clark Van Gaalen (+7) placed 65th and
Cameron Cheek (+8) finished 69th.
Top-ranked Auburn claimed the No. 1 seed at 39-under, led by three-time SEC individual champion Jackson Koivun, who finished seven shots ahead of Summy, setting a conference record for 54-hole score.
Oklahoma and Florida will tee off at 7:20 a.m. CT Saturday in a rematch of last year's SEC quarterfinal, won by the Gators, 3-2. In that matchup, Summy earned a 4-up win, while Van Gaalen and Cowan each dropped their matches. With a win, OU would advance to face the winner of No. 3 Texas and No. 6 Mississippi State.
Live scoring will be available via Clippd, and the semifinals will stream on SEC Network+.
Match Play Bracket
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 8 South Carolina
No. 4 Ole Miss vs. No. 5 Texas A&M
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No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 Oklahoma
No. 3 Texas vs. No. 6 Mississippi State