The 2017 Carmel Cup produced a weekend Texas Tech senior Hurly Long will remember for a long time.
The Mannheim, Germany, native polished off a historic weekend with a five-under 67 to complete a weekend score of 197 (69-61-67), the best three-day score in Texas Tech history, with that second-round 61 breaking the course record at Pebble Beach.
However, it was only enough to force a playoff.
Long went back-and-forth with Oklahoma State’s Hayden Wood and actually trailed Wood by a shot as the pair hit the turn. However, Long carded birdies on 11, 13, 15 and 18 to force Wood into a playoff. From there, Long took the individual title on the first playoff hole.
Long’s title is the 22nd individual tournament win under Tech head coach Greg Sands, and the second-straight individual win at the Carmel Cup for the Red Raiders, after Fredrik Nilehn took the title in 2016.
“Just overall a fantastic weekend,” Sands said. “The only thing that could have made it better would be a team title, but I’m so proud of the guys. Hurly will get a lot of the credit, and he should, for an unbelievable performance. However, this was truly a team effort as well. Three top-15 finishes in a field as strong as this makes for a great weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing where this team goes from here.”
The No. 22 Red Raiders (-38) took second as a team, finishing behind No. 1 Oklahoma State, but well ahead of both No. 2 Vanderbilt and the defending NCAA Champion, No. 3 Oklahoma. It’s the fourth-straight season in which the Red Raiders have beaten either the nation’s No. 1 or No. 2 team in a fall tournament.
Sophomore Sandy Scott went 69-67-71 to finish 10th, at -9, and Nilehn’s card read 71-69-69 (-7), good enough to tie for 13th. Wes Artac (-1) tied for 30th, Ivan Ramirez (+2) took 33rd and Kyle Hogan (+8) tied for 39th.
The Red Raiders return to action Sept. 24-26 at the Trinity Forrest Invite, which will be held in Dallas, Texas.
