No. 19 Baylor Men's Golf Comes up Just Short in Big 12 Match Play Final

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.