By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
The Baylor men’s golf team completed Big 12 Match Play in eighth place following a win over West Virginia University and a loss to the University of Texas on Wednesday at Houston Oaks in Hockley.
Top-seeded Texas Tech University prevailed over the University of Oklahoma 3-2-1 in the championship match to claim the title. TTU and the Bears have now combined to win four of the five Big 12 Match Play Championships.
On the final day, sophomore Drew Wrightson secured two points after two victories. It was the first two match-play victories of Wrightson’s career.
In the first match against WVU, it was Wrightson who notched the decisive point with a 1-up win over the Mountaineers’ Will Stakel. Junior Trey Bosco won his match 4&3 over WVU’s Kaleb Wilson. After leading early, Bosco trailed by as many as two points before flipping the match in his favor.
Sophomore Zach Heffernan earned his first win of the event with a 2&1 victory over Mountaineer Todd Duncan. Heffernan was forced to battle back after an early deficit, but he notched the lead after knotting the tally three separate times.
It was a tie for senior Johnny Keefer, as he remained even with WVU’s Max Green. He started strong and maintained a lead but ultimately slipped up, opening the door for a Green comeback.
Both freshman Jonas Appel and senior Luke Dossey fell 3&2 in their matches.
In the second match against Texas, Wrightson stayed hot with a win in the championship session, securing a 1-up over UT’s Jacob Sosa. It was a battle to the end, but Wrightson’s early advantage ultimately helped sustain the victory.
Keefer fell victim to another tie, only giving the Bears a half-point. Dossey was in the same boat, as he finished even-tally with the Longhorns’ Mason Nome. Heffernan fell 3&2 in the championship session, as well as Appel (2&1) and Bosco (3&1).
In the event, five of Baylor’s seven athletes who appeared in a match collected a win, with six of the seven collecting at least a half point.
Following the loss to UT, head coach Mike McGraw said this is a good building block tournament moving forward.
“It wasn’t the week we were looking for, but we competed well with the Longhorns today,” McGraw said. “We will get back to work in the classroom for a couple of days and begin work for our next event.”
The Bears now look to when they will host their second annual Bear Brawl, slated for Oct. 31 at the Ridgewood Country Club in Waco.
