EDMOND, Okla. (Aug. 25, 2021) – Nine current or former Oklahoma Christian golfers are entered in the annual Oklahoma Open tournament, which will begin a three-day run on Thursday on Oak Tree Country Club's East Course.
Two prominent OC golf alums will be among the first to begin their rounds on Thursday, teeing off in the first groups at 8 a.m. Corey Hale (2006) will start off No. 1 while Preston Wilkins (2008-12) will start from No. 10 tee.
Hale is an Australian who lives in Oklahoma City and has played pro golf on the China Tour, the Australian Tour and the OneAsia Tour, while Wilkins was a four-time All-American between 2008-12 who started on OC's teams that won the NAIA title in 2009 and 2011. Earlier this month, he fired a course-record 61 at MeadowBrook Country Club in Tulsa to qualify for the U.S. Golf Association's Mid-Amateur Championship.
Two Eagles will be in the 8:40 a.m. grouping off No. 1 tee – just-graduated
Alex Motes of Sulphur Springs, Texas, who started for OC the past two seasons, and incoming freshman
Oskari Nikku of Helskini, Finland. Motes, a newly minted pro player, posted a 5-under-par 65 in the opening round of last year's Oklahoma Open.
Nikku will be one of five active Eagles competing in the tournament, along with freshman
Joey Lewis of Oklahoma City (9:50 a.m. off No. 1 tee), junior
Alejandro Armijo of Rio Rancho, N.M. (1:20 p.m. off No. 1), sophomore
Chase Gardner of Snohomish, Wash. (1:50 p.m. off No. 10) and sophomore
Asher Clift of Edmond (2 p.m. off No. 1).
Armijo also has started for OC the past two seasons and this summer, he became only the third active OC player ever to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Championship. He played in that event earlier this month at legendary Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.
Another former OC player in the pro ranks, Ethan Smith, will tee off from No. 10 at 2:10 p.m. Smith played for the Eagles from 2015-19 and started on the OC squad that advanced to the NCAA Division II Championship in 2016. He's competed the past few years on mini-tours.
