Austin Eckroat (left) and Jordan Wilson (OGA photo)
After the season that Oklahoma State had, members of the Cowboy roster are something like royalty, especially in their native Oklahoma. They’re at least the stuff that idols are made of, as is the case with Jordan Wilson. The high school junior had to get through Cowboy junior Austin Eckroat on Wednesday in the final match of the Oklahoma Amateur at Oak Tree National in Edmond, Okla. He pulled it off.
“I play with Austin out here sometimes and when I knew we were playing in the finals I was actually relaxed,” Wilson told
Golf Oklahoma. “I was just going to play my game and see what happened. I knew if I played really well and he wasn’t at his best I would have a chance.”
Wilson, who plays for Edmond North High School, is the defending 6A state champion. Against Eckroat, Wilson was king of the up-and-down. After being 2 down on the 15th tee, Eckroat effectively extended the match by winning Nos. 15 and 16. The two both made pars on 17 and 18 to force extra holes.
Eckroat bogeyed No. in sudden death and for the second straight year, finished runner-up at the state amateur. Last year, he lost to teammate Hayden Wood.
Eckroat, who will anchor the Oklahoma State team in the fall after four players graduated or turned professional, could have gained some ground in the World Amateur Golf Rankings had he won, which might have helped his bid for a spot on the 2019 U.S. Walker Cup Team. He will play the Western Amateur and the U.S. Amateur in the coming weeks.
“Jordan played really well and congratulations to him,” Eckroat said. “We play together quite a bit and he’s a good player but I hadn’t seen him in tournament conditions. He made a lot of good birdie putts and par-saving putts.”
Wilson becomes the first high school player to win this trophy in 10 years.
“To have my name on this trophy with so many great players and so many years of history is very special,” said Wilson, who moved to Oklahoma in 2013, the year Eckroat won the first of his two individual Class 6A state titles for Edmond North as a freshman. “To win it against Austin, who I’ve been following all his accomplishments for years, is even more special.”
ABOUT THE Oklahoma State Amateur
Open to Oklahoma residents with handicap index
of
7.0 or less who have completed qualifying or are
exempt. 18 holes of stroke play determines a
round
of
64 match play bracket.
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