DETROIT (May 17, 2022) – On Moving Day at the NCAA Division II Championship, No. 7-ranked Oklahoma Christian was all over the top half of the leaderboard, including spending a brief time leading the 20-team field.
By the end of Tuesday's round, the Eagles remained in the all-important top eight at TPC Michigan, by the slimmest of margins. With their team score of 300, they have a two-round score of 596, tied for seventh with Lone Star Conference rival Midwestern State (Texas), one shot ahead of No. 8 Georgia Southwestern and two ahead of No. 3 Lee (Tenn.).
The top eight after Wednesday's final round of stroke play will advance to match play to determine the team champion. With the top 10 teams within eight shots of each other, it figures to be not only a fight for survival, but also for position.
No. 23 Indianapolis (Ind.) at 590 and No. 2 Arkansas Tech at 591 will begin the round atop the field. Unranked Colorado State-Pueblo and No. 11 Central Missouri (both at 592), No. 1 Barry (Fla) at 593 and No. 10 Florida Southern at 594 will join OC, No. 14 Midwestern State, Georgia Southwestern and Lee in the chase.
OC also has a player who is in the mix for the individual title – sophomore
Mateo Pulcini of Rio Cuarto, Argentina. Pulcini, who's won two tournaments this season, led the 108-man field for a good portion of Tuesday's round. Through 13 holes, He was 3-under-par for the round and 4-under for the tournament, good for a two-shot outright lead before closing with three bogeys over his final five holes.
Still, his even-par 72 on the 7,056-yard course put him at 143 (1-under) and in a tie for fourth, one shot behind Keegan Bronnenberg and Oliver Mast of Indianapolis and Holden Hamilton of Arkansas Tech, who shared the lead at 2-under.
OC, playing in the next to last group, was in second place before teeing off shortly afternoon and thanks to hot starts by Pulcini and senior
Andres Brictson of Merida, Mexico, edged past Indianapolis into the top spot for a few minutes. The Eagles' struggles down the stretch caused them to slip down the leaderboard, though, into the tie for seventh.
Four OC players – Pulcini, Brictson, freshman
Oskari Nikku of Tuusula, Finland and junior
Alejandro Armijo of Rio Rancho, N.M., each recorded three birdies, with wildly different results. Brictson posted a 73 and was tied for 24th at 149.
Nikku posted a 79 and was tied for 54th at 153, while Armijo's 78 put him at 157, tied for 74th. OC freshman
Exequiel Rodriguez of Buenos Aires, Argentina, shot a 77 and was at 152, tied for 46th.
The Eagles will play in the third-from-last grouping on Wednesday, along with Midwestern State and Georgia Southwestern. It will be the third straight day in which OC and Georgia Southwestern have played together. OC's tee times will be between 11:10 a.m. and 11:54 a.m.
RESULTS
