Oklahoma State wins a semifinal thriller in NCAA golf and meets Virginia for the title

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Oklahoma State sophomore Eric Lee holed a 6-foot par putt on the 19th hole that sent the Cowboys into the final match against Virginia after a wild finish Tuesday filled with bad shots, good bounces and two final matches that went overtime in the NCAA Men's Golf Championship

In the decisive match as the sun was setting over La Costa, Lee drilled a 3-wood to 7 feet on the par-5 18th. Cohen Trolio of Ole Miss hit his second shot toward trouble, but it took a hard hop off wiry grass and bounced back on the cart path instead of into a tough lie.

Trolio hit a magnificent pitch to 3 feet for birdie, and Lee missed his winning putt. They went to the par-3 16th — their 19th hole — and both had 30-foot birdie putts. Trolio came up 8 feet short and three-putted, and Lee went by the cup and holed it coming back.

Virginia, the No. 7 seed that knocked off defending champion Auburn in the morning and No. 3 seed Florida in the afternoon, will go after its first NCAA title in golf.

Ben James, the No. 4 player in the amateur world ranking, went down to the wire when Luke Poulter holed a 30-foot par putt on the 17th — something his father, Ian Poulter, made a career doing — until Poulter ran into trouble on the 18th and James secured a 2-up victory.

''It came down to a putting contest at the end,'' James said. ''We both putted lights out. Luckily, I came out on top.''

That was the third point Virginia needed to reach the championship match Wednesday.

It took nearly two hours for the Cavaliers to find out whether they would face Oklahoma State or Ole Miss, the No. 8 seed that eliminated top-seeded Arizona State earlier in the day.

Ole Miss junior Tom Fischer, who earlier went an NCAA-record 21 holes to beat Michael Mjaaseth of Arizona State, was headed for trouble right on the 18th when his ball bounced off a clump of wiry grass that gave him a shot and led to par for a 1-up victory.

Oklahoma State appeared to have another match in hand with Swedish freshman Filip Fahlberg-Johnsson comfortably ahead against Cameron Tankersley, who somehow stayed in the game with great par saves.

Fahlberg-Johnsson three-putted the 16th and 17th holes, missed a 3-footer for the win on the 17th. Still 1-up, he was left of the green in two on the par-5 18th when he semi-shanked a chip and lost the hole to go overtime.

On the 19th hole — the par-3 16th — Tankersley went into the water, and the Swede followed him there. Fahlberg-Johnsson hit his next tee shot to 5 feet, and then missed the bogey putt for the win. On the 17th, the Swede was in a waste area left and hit a superb shot out to 6 feet.

He made that for birdie and the win.

''Very exhausted,'' Fahlberg-Johnsson said. ''It was one of the worst days on the golf course I ever had, and also one of the best.''

Oklahoma State, which had an easy time in beating Bedlam rival Oklahoma in the quarterfinals, is going for its 12 NCAA men's golf title, second only to Houston with 16.

Arizona State kept an unusual streak going. Since the NCAA went to match play in 2009 to decide the team title, Oklahoma State is the only No. 1 seed to win in 2018.

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