CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA – Oklahoma holds a five-shot lead in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship with an 8-under 280 in the finals at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa North Course (7,528 yards/72).
Texas A&M senior Phichsne Michon is tied for the lone lead with 66 points (by 6 points). Vanderbilt senior Jackson Van Paris, Georgia junior Carter Loughlin and Texas junior Tommy Morrison are all one stroke back at 67.
UPDATE: Click here for the 2025 DI Men’s Golf Championship
After the first 18 holes, the Sooners lead Florida State, Florida State and Texas by five shots, each at 285. Arizona State, Illinois and national champion Auburn are tied for the 286 points by six strokes. The Sooners finished with a 4-under 68 on Friday. 70 from Drew Goodman, Ryder Cowan 1-over 73.
“Today was a great start for our team,” Oklahoma head coach Ryan Hybl said. So coming out strong on the first day this time was huge for us. It’s been a long week and we have a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s been a solid start. Our guys are confident and we are ready to finish this game tomorrow morning.”
Starting on the 1st hole, Michon had six birdies (holes 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, 16) and had a clean card of 12 pars.
“It was good,” Michonne said. “I hit a lot of fairways and greens. I hit a few shots along the way. It wasn’t anything special. I didn’t feel like I was hitting it very close. I just kept it in front. It’s a championship golf course and it’s tough, you have to play smart shots and limit your mistakes.”
Morrison shot a 5-under 67 in the afternoon wave, hitting six birdies (holes 1, 2, 6, 9, 10 and 11) against one bogey (hole 4). It was his 17th round in the 60s (37 total) this season.
“Everything was very tight today, I kept it in front of me,” Morrison said. “It wasn’t necessarily in the middle of the face, but it was going where I was looking for it. I made some good shots early, and that’s where you need to get off to a good start. I played good free.”
“I love it here,” Morrison continued. “Ever since we first saw it last year, I’ve been a big fan of the golf course, the design and what’s been done with it. The rough is a little less than it was last year. The greens were really nice today and the course still showed some teeth.”
Loughlin recorded a personal-best score of 5-under 67 in the morning wave. Starting on the 10th hole, he had a clean slate with five birdies (12, 18, 2, 6, 7) and 13 pars. He tied his college career low of 18 points with 67 points (previously set twice).
“It’s fun to have a bogey-free round,” Loughlin said. “I wasn’t as nervous this morning as I thought I would be. Our team coaches talk a lot about mindset and not setting expectations too high. That’s for sure. I’ve been going in the right direction for a couple of weeks. So you know my golf swing is good. But you know it’s about not making my golf too big. Or at least you can do that to make it good.”
The second round of the tournament will be played on Saturday, May 24th at 6:30am PST.
The 2025 Championship Finals will consist of three days of 54-hole stroke play from Friday to Sunday (May 23-25), which will then decide the top 15 teams and the nine non-promotion teams. This is followed by the final day of 18-hole stroke play (Monday, May 26) with the top 8 teams competing as well as a 72-hole singles championship. The team state championship will be determined in a match format consisting of quarterfinals and semifinals on Tuesday, May 27, followed by the finals on Wednesday, May 28.
Leave a Reply