Oklahoma State men's golf rallies past Virginia to win 12th NCAA championship
The Oklahoma State men's golf team won its 12th NCAA championship on Wednesday, defeating Virginia 4-1 in the match play final at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California.
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The win moved OSU into a tie for third place on the all-time list for men's golf titles, trailing Yale (21) and Houston (16), tied with Princeton. Of those four programs, Yale and Princeton haven't won a title since the 1940s and Houston's last win was 1985.
OSU has won at least one title in each of the last seven decades, beginning in the 1960s, with the last coming in 2018.
'That's the goal — every team starts out with that, but only one team gets to leave with the trophy each year,' OSU coach Alan Bratton said. 'These guys put in hard work and you do that with a chance to play with pressure.
'All of them did a great job and we're lucky to be on top.'
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With Bratton fielding a lineup of four sophomores and one freshman, it was the youngster who got OSU on the board first.
Freshman Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson jumped to a 3-up lead over the first nine holes. Virginia's Maxi Puregger rallied to cut the deficit to one through 13, but with a birdie on the 15th hole and a par on the 17th, Fahlberg-Johnsson closed it out, 2 and 1.
More: NCAA Men's Golf Championship highlights: Oklahoma State beats Virginia for 12th national title
The OSU men's golf team celebrates after beating Virginia in the final round of match play to win the NCAA title May 28 in Carlsbad, Calif.
He was the only Cowboy to go 3-0 in the match play bracket.
OSU sophomore Gaven Lane's match went much the opposite. He was 2-down after seven holes, but won six of the next eight to close out a 4 and 3 victory. Lane had five birdies in that stretch.
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Shortly after OSU's Preston Stout lost 4 and 3, Oklahoma State's focus fell on sophomore Eric Lee — again.
Just as he did in Tuesday's semifinal win, Lee came through with the clincher.
Lee's bump-and-run chip shot from deep rough on No. 18 rolled within 5 feet for birdie. That put the pressure on his opponent, Josh Duangmanee, who missed his birdie putt to give Lee the hole and the match — and OSU the title.
'Honestly, it feels unreal,' said Lee, who transferred from Cal last offseason. 'I didn't really know what to expect coming into today, because I've never really been in this situation. But really proud of the guys, the way they fought. I had a lot of faith in them and I knew even if things didn't go well for me today, they had my back.'
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Virginia took early leads in four of the five matches, but OSU rallied to take charge. OSU's Ethan Fang, who along with Stout was named an All-American earlier in the day, had trailed most of his match, but was 1-up through 15 when Lee clinched the victory.
'These guys have shown toughness all year,' Bratton said. 'We talked about that, if you get behind, you just keep plugging. The tournament starts over every day and every hole, really, in match play. I'm proud of our guys.
'It looks a lot like Karsten Creek out here with all our fans that flew out, so what a special day for Oklahoma State.'
More: Oklahoma State men's golf defeats Ole Miss, will play Virginia for NCAA championship
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Scott Wright covers Oklahoma State athletics for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Scott? He can be reached at swright@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @ScottWrightOK. Sign up for the Oklahoma State Cowboys newsletter to access more OSU coverage. Support Scott's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com or by using the link at the top of this page.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State men's golf rallies past Virginia to win 12th NCAA title
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