Edmond, Okla. - No. 4 Oklahoma Christian men's golf team hosted their spring tournament at the renowned Oak Tree Country Club, with 54 holes played over two days in cold and blustery weather.
Oak Tree Country Club - East Course
Edmond, Oklahoma
Par 70 - 7116 Yards
Round 1
Oklahoma Christian began their first of two rounds on Monday trying to battle through the condition of spring golf in Oklahoma. Oak Tree proved to show its ability to challenge golfers as everyone in the field struggled to find scoring opportunities.
After round one the Eagles found themselves tied ninth as a team. Exequiel Rodriguez was the low man for OC with an opening round of 75 (+5) and not far off of the lead.
Oskari Nikku and Leandro Mihaich both opened their days with 77 (+7), while Vertti Perala and Said Powers rounded out the Eagles score, both firing off a 78 (+8).
This put the Eagles in tied for ninth with a score of 307 (+27), well within striking distance.
Round 2
The Eagles turned around in play their second 18 holes of the day and saw some great improvements.
Oskari Nikku continued his strong play this spring by shooting a 69 (-1) to jump into the top-10 on the leaderboard. On a day when birdies were hard to come by, Nikku found a way to sneak five in during his round.
Exequiel Rodriguez, Leandro Mihaich, and Vertti Perala all shaved a few strokes off their first round scores to improve the team score.
The Eagles finished the second round with a team score 293 (+13), for a day score of 600 (+40), this would put them in fifth place as a team and needing a strong final round to make a move up the leaderboard.
Round 3
The wind continued to play a large factor in the tournament as round three began on Tuesday morning, so much so that there would only be one round in the whole field to shoot under par.
The Eagles found themselves back and at one point fighting to stay in the top-10 in the team race, but the men would battle their way back to claim solo third as a team.
The Eagles were led by Said Powers and Oskari Nikku in the final round, both shooting a 74 (+4). Nikku would finish tied for fifth individually to add to his accomplishments this spring season.
Exequiel Rodriguez and Leandro Mihaich both finished strong, shooting a 75 (+5).
The Eagles finished with final round 298 (+18) and a three round team total of 898.
Individual Rounds and Team Score
Oskari Nikku - 77-69-74=220
Exequiel Rodriguez - 75-73-75=223
Leandro Mihaich - 77-75-75=227
Said Powers - 78-81-74=233
Vertti Perala - 78-76-81=235
Team score - 307-293-289=898
Others Competing
The Eagles had six other golfers competing in the tournament with a second team and individuals.
Blas Ayesa - 74-77-76=227
Joey Lewis - 81-74-75=230
Noah Haase - 85-78-76=239
Nick Gimotty - 83-78-85=246
Asher Clift - 81-85-88=254
Team score - 319-307-312=938
Jackson Phillips - 86-81-77=244
Up Next
The Eagles will travel to the west coast to compete in the UC San Diego Invitational at the famous Torrey Pines North Course in La Jolla, California, March 25th and 26th.
