No. 19 Baylor MGOLF Comes up Just Short in Big 12 Match Play Final

[Roberts, Matt]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Oct. 11, 2023

No. 19 Baylor MGOLF Comes up Just Short in Big 12 Match Play Final
BU’s Zach Heffernan completes a perfect 5-0 week for the Bears
For more information, contact Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

HOCKLEY, Texas – Zach Heffernan’s perfect 5-0 week was not enough to lift No. 19 Baylor men’s golf to its third Big 12 Match Play title, falling 4-1 to Texas on Wednesday in the championship match.

The second-place finish was BU’s best finish since it took home the title in 2020, and Heffernan’s 5-0 mark was the best since Cooper Dossey and Colin Kober accomplished that feat in the inaugural Big 12 Match Play Championship in 2018.

Johnny Keefer matched his career-best match play effort with four wins in the event for the first time since 2020. Four of Baylor’s five participants earned a winning record throughout the week.

THE RUNDOWN
Heffernan fell 1-down to Texas’ Keaton Vo after three holes, but flipped the match in his favor with back-to-back wins at Nos. 5, 6 and 7 to go 2-up. Wins at holes No. 8, 10 and 12 put him in firm control to end the match at No. 14 with a 5&4 win.

Keefer took his opponent to the 18th hole for the second-straight match before ultimately falling 1-up to Brian Stark. In a match that featured four lead changes, Stark took the early advantage with wins at Nos. 3 and 6 to go 2-up. Keefer fought back with wins at Nos. 9, 10, 12 and 13, which netted him a 1-up lead through 12. Stark won back-to-back holes to re-take the lead at 1-up, until Keefer won at No. 17 to tie the match with two holes to play. Following a halve at No. 18, the pair went to the final hole all-square, where Stark won the hole and the match with a birdie.

Davis Ovard took his match 17 holes before ultimately falling 2&1 to Texas’ Jacob Sosa. The duo traded wins in the first two holes to remain square. Sosa took back the 1-up advantage at No. 6 before Ovard fought to even the match at No. 8 and then again at No. 10. Wins by Sosa at Nos. 11, 13 and 14 pushed Ovard’s deficit to 3-down with four holes to play. A win for the freshman got him 2-down, but a pair of halves would end the match 2&1 in favor of Sosa and the Horns.

Luke Dossey finished the week at 3-2 after a 5&3 setback on Wednesday morning to Christiaan Maas. Each player picked up a win within the first three holes to keep the match square, but Maas picked up back-to-back wins at Nos. 5 and 6 to go 2-up. Wins at Nos. 8, 10 and 12 saw Maas' lead swell to 5-up with seven to play. Dossey prolonged the match with a win at No. 15 before Maas sealed the victory with a birdie at No. 16.

Trey Bosco also finished the week at 3-2 following a 5&4 loss to Texas’ Nathan Petronzio in the championship session. After falling 2-down through two, Bosco picked up his first win of the day at No. 3. Wins at Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7, though, would stake Petronzio to a 5-up lead through seven, and despite wins at Nos. 8 and 11 for Bosco, the deficit was too much to overcome for the Baylor senior.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   BU’s 17 match points were the most in the field this week.
  *   Four of Baylor's five players came home with a winning record for the first time since, which is the most since 2020.
  *   Four of Baylor’s five players met or exceeded their number of match play wins entering this event.


STAT OF THE DAY
5 — Zach Heffernan is the third player in Baylor history to complete a 5-0 week at the Big 12 Match Play, and the first since Cooper Dossey and Colin Kober in 2018.

QUOTABLE
Head coach Mike McGraw — “Although we are disappointed with today’s outcome, there is a lot to look forward to this season. This team has come a long way since last year.”

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will close the fall semester at the Kapolei Invitational, Oct. 30 - Nov. 1, at Kapolei Country Club in Oahu, Hawaii. For more information on Baylor Men’s Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.



—BaylorBears.com—




Matt Roberts | Associate Director of Athletic Communications (MBB/MGOLF/ WGOLF)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-227-2280
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