No. 1 Oklahoma opened its spring season at the Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico on Sunday morning. The Sooners are in second place after the first round, trailing No. 12 Georgia by five strokes.
By eagling the 18th hole on the par-72 course, senior Patrick Welch broke the OU program record vs. par during the first round. After carding a school record 62 (-10), he boasts the solo 18-hole lead at the end of day one.
"Everything went really well today," Welch said in a press release. "I hit the ball really well, which set me up with a lot of birdie chances, and I converted on most of them. I didn't have too many mistakes today, which obviously helps.”
🗣 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐑𝐃@vincentpwelch signs for a 62 (-10) to break the program record vs. par today! Oklahoma (268, -20) sits in solo second after 1️⃣8️⃣ at the Puerto Rico classic! #Sooners | #ChampU pic.twitter.com/owKw52mw4M
— Oklahoma Golf (@OU_MGolf) February 13, 2022
With seniors Chris Gotterup and Logan McAllister posting a 66 (-6) and 69 (-3), respectively, the Sooners posted a 268 (-20) collectively. The overall score of 268 is the fifth-lowest single-round score for OU all-time, and the 20-under par has only been bested three times by previous Sooners teams.
"I'm really proud and excited for Patrick and his 62 today," head coach Ryan Hybl said in a press release. "It was a beautiful round of golf. We did some really good things today, including Chris and Logan's finishes to their rounds."
Redshirt freshman Stephen Campbell was the fourth Sooner to shoot under par on Sunday, earning a share of 48th place after garnering five birdies for a 71 (-1). Freshman Drew Goodman delivered a team-leading 14 pars and is tied for 60th place at even par after round one.
Redshirt freshman Jaxon Dowell and sophomore Ben Lorenz, playing as unattached individuals, are also in the mix after 18 holes. Dowell tallied seven birdies on the day, but a double-bogey on hole eight and two other bogeys gave him a 69 for the day. Lorenz carded a pair of bogeys and four birdies for a 70 (-2).
Round two for the Sooners tees off at 6:30 a.m. CT on Monday. Live scores for the three-day event can be found on Golfstat.com.
