No. 3 Tech begins spring at loaded Amer Ari

WAIMEA, HI -- The No. 3 ranked Texas Tech men's golf program opens its Spring slate on Wednesday when they compete in the Amer Ari hosted by Hawaii Hilo at Hapuna Golf Club.

Coming off a fall that featured a No. 1 ranking and two team titles at both the Big 12 Match Play and the Inverness Intercollegiate.

This weeks' event in Hawaii features 11 top-30 teams, nine top-20 teams, five top-10 teams and three top-five teams, including No. 2 Auburn and No. 4 UNC.

THE COURSE:
Hapuna Golf Course. 6895 yards (Par-72).

THE FIELD (2022-23 GOLFSTAT RANKINGS):
Texas Tech (3)
Arizona State (7)
Auburn (2)
Georgia Tech (12)
Hawaii (150)
Hawaii Hilo (NR)
North Carolina (4)
Oklahoma State (15)
Oregon (26)
Oregon State (67)
Osaka Gakulin (Japan)
Pacific (156)
Pepperdine (14)
San Jose State (102)
Stanford (6)
TCU (41)
Texas (18)
UCLA (132)
UC Davis (143)
Washington (29)

LAST TIME OUT (Big 12 Match Play):
Time and pressure.

Head coach Greg Sands constantly preaches that phrase.

Never was that phrase better embodied than late Wednesday afternoon when the No. 1 ranked Texas Tech men's golf program used a large charge to down the University of Oklahoma 3.5-2.5 in the championship match of the 2022 Big 12 Match Play event.

Locked in a dogfight for a majority of the afternoon, the Red Raiders used clutch late performances from Ludvig Aberg, Baard Skogen and Calum Scott.

With a point on the board thanks to a clutch 4&3 victory from Jack Wall, the Red Raiders found themselves trying to find a path to 3.5 points.

Heading to the 17th hole the match could not be closer.

Each team had two points, and the remaining two matches were all squared.

Needing to help his team capture their second Big 12 title in four years, Aberg went to work.

After using a clutch par on the 17th hole to climb ahead, Aberg sunk a perfect birdie putt on 18 to put the Red Raiders in front 3-2.

With the point column now reading three, the path to the title became much simpler for Scott and the Red Raiders.

Heading to 18 all square, Scott recorded a clutch four on the final hole to secure the aforementioned half point.

Tech clinched its spot in the title match earlier on Wednesday, on the backs of a crucial draw with the University of Texas. In that match, Tech received clutch 3&2 individual wins from Skogen, Scott and Snyders to win Pool A outright.

Eighth-seeded TCU downed Pool B runner-up Oklahoma State 4.5-1.5 to secure third place. Kansas by virtue of a tiebreaker over K-State finished fifth, followed by Texas, Baylor, Iowa State and West Virginia. The Horned Frogs finished the event with just one outright loss, Monday's 5-1 setback to Texas Tech.

Tech's victory in Houston was the Red Raiders second team victory of the fall, as the squad previously defended their title at the Inverness Intercollegiate back on Sept. 26-27.

THE LINEUP:
1: Ludvig Aberg
2: Calum Scott
3: Baard Skogen
4: Jack Wall
5: Matthew Comegys
Indv: Gustav Andersson, Tyran Snyders

UP NEXT:
The Red Raiders head to Northern California for The Prestige in two weeks (Feb. 20-22) hosted by Stanford University. The three-day event will take place at PGA West.

No. 3 Tech begins spring at loaded Amer Ari

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ludvig Aberg

Gustav Andersson

Matthew Comegys

Calum Scott

Baard Skogen

Tyran Snyders

Jack Wall

Texas Tech University Athletics