The Cowboys’ Eric Lee sealed the deal with a clutch performance on the final holes, as Oklahoma State claimed its 12th NCAA men’s golf championship, and its first in eight years, with a resounding 4-1 victory over Virginia on Wednesday at La Costa.
Lee, a sophomore transfer from Cal, sank a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th to take the lead, then calmly chipped to five feet on the 18th before closing out Virginia’s Josh Duangmanee with a conceded birdie. It capped a thrilling finish to an unforgettable week for the Cowboys, who knocked off Oklahoma in the quarters, then outlasted Mississippi in a semifinal heart-stopper.
Just one day earlier, Lee came up big in the clutch, draining a sixfoot par putt on the 19th hole to push OSU past the Rebels. This time, his poise and precision under pressure delivered the decisive point in the championship round.
Swedish freshman Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson gave the Cowboys early momentum with a 3-and-1 win over Maxi Puregger, and Gaven Lane added another crucial point with a dominant 4-and-3 win against Paul Chang. With Lee’s victory clinching the title, Ethan Fang’s match against Bryan Lee was called after 15 holes, with Fang leading one up.
The victory adds to OSU’s storied golf legacy and marks the eighth time a Big 12 program has won the title since the conference’s inception— and the sixth since the format switched to match play in 2009.
Oklahoma State once again proved it’s a force to be reckoned with, rising to the top with talent, tenacity and a touch of Cowboy luck.