OSU wins Olympia Fields in a runaway; Wolff top individual
Oklahoma State's winning team (OSU Athletics photo)
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (Sept. 16, 2018) – Oklahoma State has picked up right where it left off last season. The Cowboys pulled away in the final round of the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational to earn their first victory in two starts this fall. Oklahoma State, the unanimous No. 1 in the GCAA coaches preseason poll after winning last year’s national title, finished 18 shots ahead of the field.
The team is now 1-1 on the season after finishing third at the Carmel Cup at the beginning of the month. Sophomore
Matthew Wolff, however, is 2-0 after winning the individual title in both events. Wolff, who was last year’s Phil Mickelson Award winner as the nation’s top freshman, went 6 under at Olympia Fields Country Club. He edged California’s
Collin Morikawa by a single shot.
Oklahoma State built its lead in the second round after carding 2-under 278 – the only under-par round of the day. With an eight-shot cushion entering the final round, the team came back with another 278 and finished the tournament at 11 under. Pursuers California and Alabama fell away on Sunday while USC surged. The Trojans had too far to climb, however, after starting the day in fourth place, 17 shots off the pace. USC claimed second place at 7 over for 54 holes.
“This was a great way to start the year,” USC head coach Chris Zambri said. “You don’t want to finish as far behind first as we were, but I’m very happy with the way we played in the second and third rounds.”
California was third at 16 over and Alabama was fourth at 18 over. UNLV rounded out the top 5 at 20 over.
ABOUT THE Fighting Illini Invitational
54-hole elite collegiate event hosted at Olympia
Fields
Country Club by the University of Illinois. Olympia
Fields has hosted the 2015 U.S. Amateur. two U.S.
Opens, two PGA Championships, five Western Opens
and a U.S. Senior Open.
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