De La Fuente Leads Men’s Golf at Big 12 Championships

Santiago De La Fuente, Big 12 Championships All-Tournament Team

TRINITY, Texas – University of Men's Golf senior Santiago De La Fuente posted a 69 for his fourth straight sub-par score to lead the Cougars during the Final Round of the Big 12 Championships at Whispering Pines Golf Club on Wednesday afternoon.

De La Fuente drained a team-high five birdies and finished the three-day, 72-hole postseason tournament at 7-under 281 to tie for fourth and earn Big 12 All-Tournament Team honors.

It was the second straight season he was named to a Conference Championships All-Tournament Team after capturing the individual title at the American Athletic Conference Championships a year ago.

Junior Wolfgang Glawe (286) and super senior Austyn Reily (288) joined De La Fuente among the Top-20 leaders.

As a team, Houston recorded a score of 292 in the Final Round and tied for sixth with Texas Tech at 1,159 on the 7,434-yard, par-72 course.

De La Fuente started his Final Round on a hot note with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes and rebounded from his first bogey at No. 4 with another birdie on the next hole.

Following five straight pars, the Guadalajara, Mexico, native drained a birdie on the par-5 12^th hole and sank his final birdie of the tournament on the par-5 17^th hole to finish at 7-under 281.

De La Fuente enjoyed his fourth straight Top-20 finish and recorded his second Top-Five showing in his last three tournaments.

Glawe finished 13^th with a score of 2-under 286. Reily joined De La Fuente in shooting par or better with a 72 Wednesday and moved into a tie for 15^th at 288.

Junior Jacob Borow tied for 54^th at 304 while junior Laurenz Schiergen – who played the last two rounds of the Championships – finished 68^th at 155. Freshman Chi Chun Chen played the first two rounds of the tournament and finished at 160.

Texas won the team championship with a score of 1,127 while Oklahoma finished second at 1,145. Oklahoma State (1,150), Baylor (1,155) and West Virginia (1,157) rounded out the Top Five with Kansas (1,163), Cincinnati (1,164) and BYU (1,175) completing the Top 10.

Gustav Frimodt (TCU), Preston Stout (Oklahoma State) and Ty Gingerich (Cincinnati) each tied at 9-under 279 and were declared tri-champions.

Ryder Cowan (281, Oklahoma State), Johnny Keefer (283, Baylor), Brian Start (283, Texas), Will King (284, Kansas), Keaton Vo (284, Texas) and Nathan Petronzio (284, Texas) joined De La Fuente on the All-Tournament Team.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
For the 59^th time in school history, Houston competed in a Men's Golf conference championships event.

The 2024 Big 12 Championships marked the fifth different league in which the Cougars competed, joining American Athletic Conference (2014-23), Conference USA (1997-2013), Southwest Conference (1974-96) and the Missouri Valley Conference (1951-60). Houston competed as an independent from 1961 to 1973.

The Cougars have captured 21 team championships with 22 individual titles at conference championships during the program's history.

This season, De La Fuente is competing in his fourth conference championships for his third different league, joining American Athletic Conference (2023) and Great American Conference (2021-22 with Arkansas Tech). Reily and Borow competed in their third conference postseason events with Glawe making his second appearance with the Cougars.

Chen made his inaugural conference championships appearance this season.

UP NEXT
Following the Big 12 Championships, the Cougars will learn their postseason fate during the NCAA Selection Show. That show will air at 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 1, on Golf Channel.

NCAA Regional play is set for May 13-15 at one of six sites across the nation.

Those postseason venues include The University of Texas Golf Club (Austin, Texas; hosted by Texas); University Club (Baton Rouge, La., hosted by LSU); UNC Finley Golf Course (Chapel Hill, N.C.; hosted by North Carolina); The Farms Golf Club (Rancho Santa Fe., Calif.; hosted by San Diego); Stanford Golf Course (Stanford, Calif., hosted by Stanford) and Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex (West Lafayette, Ind; hosted by Purdue).

The top five teams and top individual not on a qualifying team at each NCAA Regional advance to the NCAA Championships set for Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., on May 24-29.

SUPPORT the COOGS
Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Men's Golf by supporting Linking Coogs – UH's NIL collective – and by joining Project 17, which provides financial support directly to Houston Men's Golf for needs beyond its operating budget.

STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMGolf. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at uhcougarmgolf.

– UHCougars.com –

Upcoming Events

Recent Results