5 Sooners in Top 20, OU grabs 5th at Puerto Rico Classic

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Five Sooners finished inside the top 20, including Ben Lorenz, who grabbed bronze, as No. 15 Oklahoma opened its spring season with a fifth-place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic on Tuesday.

The Sooners (fifth, 32-under par) signed for 13-under 275 in Tuesday’s final round, the second-lowest score among the field, to break a tie and secure the team’s fifth consecutive top-five finish to open the season. Despite OU’s strong team result, it was the Sooners’ unattached players that shined at the par-72 Grand Reserve Golf Club this week.

Playing as an individual, Ben Lorenz (tied for third, 14-under par) fired 6671-65 to grab a share of third place and post the second-lowest 54-hole score of his career, a 14-under 202. It marked Lorenz’s fourth career top-five and seventh top-10 in just 24 events as a Sooner. His 65 (7-under par) in Tuesday’s final round marked a new career low for the Peoria, Ariz., product. He notched a field-high two eagles and finished third among all players with 40 pars.

Stephen Campbell Jr. (seventh, 13-under par) notched a seventh-place finish, the seventh top-10 of his career, playing unattached from the lineup. The Richmond, Texas, product carded 6966-68 to tally a 13-under 203, the lowest 54-hole score of his college career. His 18 birdies paced the Sooners, narrowly besting Jaxon Dowell’s 17.

Drew Goodman (tied for 13th, 10-under par) led the OU line-up, finishing in a tie for 13th at 10-underpar. The All-American bookended his week with 67s (5-under par) to notch his third top-20 finish of the season. Goodman shared 13th with Jaxon Dowell (tied for 13th, 10-under par), who fired two rounds in the 60s to open the week before a final-round 71 (1-under par) on Tuesday. The 13thplace finish was Dowell’s best of the season and sixth top-20 placement in his career.

Luke Kluver (tied for 16th, 9-under par) fired a 66 (6-under par) in the final round to move up 26 spots on the leaderboard and finish 16th.

Freshmen Ryder Cowan (tied for 37th, 5-under par) and PJ Maybank III (tied for 44th, 4-under par) finished in the red and combined for three rounds in the 60s, giving Sooner fans a glimpse of the future.

Jase Summy (tied for 49th, 3-under par) signed for three rounds of 71 (1-under par) and finished in 49th.

As a team, the Sooners posted the fourth-most birdies (64) and secondmost eagles (two) on the week but weren’t good enough on par-5s as the Crimson and Cream finished eight shots behind the pace on the track’s longest holes.

Georgia rallied late to hang on and win the team title at 42-under, while Bryan Lee (Virginia) and Nels Surtani (Purdue) shared medalist honors at 15-under, one shot in front of Lorenz.

The Sooners return to the course Sunday for the three-day, 54-hole Southern Highlands Collegiate, hosted annually at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas.