JONESBORO, Ark. (Oct. 12, 2021) – Oklahoma Christian downed 13 NCAA Division I teams and freshman
Exequiel Rodriguez posted a top-10 finish in the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate, which ended Tuesday at RidgePointe Country Club.
OC, ranked No. 11 in Division II, was the only non-Division I squad in the 17-team field and the Eagles more than held their own against perhaps the toughest field they'll see during the 2021-22 golf season, spending most of the tournament in the top four and holding a share of the lead for a time during the first round.
The Eagles posted a team score of 290 (2-over) in the final round to finish the three-round event with a score of 884, just three shots behind Loyola-Chicago and five behind Oral Roberts. Host Arkansas State won with a score of 858.
Among the Division I teams finishing behind the Eagles: Valparaiso, Creighton, Missouri State, Murray State, Stephen F. Austin, Stetson and Evansville.
Rodriguez, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, matched the lowest round of the day on Tuesday in the 95-man field, a 5-under-par 67 on the 6,565-yard course that included four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 No. 13. He zoomed 28 spots up the leaderboard as a result into a tie for eighth at 218 (2-over). The top-10 finish was his second in three collegiate tournaments.
He finished seven shots behind the winner, Jack Madden of Arkansas State.
OC sophomore
Mateo Pulcini of Rio Cuarto, Argentina, had five birdies in his final round and flirted with a top-10 finish most of the day and eventually shot a 73, which left him tied for 16th individually at 220. Junior
Alejandro Armijo of Rio Rancho, N.M., coming off his first collegiate win last week in the NCAA Division II South Central-West Regional Preview in Pueblo, Colo., finished 27th at 223 after a final-round 73 that included four birdies.
Freshman
Santiago Villareal of Cordoba, Argentina, posted a final-round 77 and tied for 38th at 226, while senior
Andres Brictson of Merida, Mexico, shot a 78 and tied for 59th at 231. Competing as an individual, OC sophomore
Chase Gardner of Snohomish, Wash., tied for 70th at 235 after posting a 78.
The Eagles will wrap up their fall season next Monday and Tuesday in The Hrnciar, a tournament hosted by Cameron at The Territory Golf and Country Club in Duncan, Okla. OC has won the team title in the event the past four years.
FINAL RESULTS
