Arkansas battled Oklahoma State down the stretch but finished one stroke short of the team title at the 16th annual Cabo Collegiate at the par-71 Twin Dolphin Club.
The No. 11 Cowboys finished at 22-under, edging the No. 9 Razorbacks at 21-under to claim the championship. It marked Oklahoma State’s fourth Cabo Collegiate title and its first since winning three straight from 2017 to 2019.
Arkansas was led by sophomores Gerardo Gomez and Erich Fortlage, who tied for fourth place with a 7-under 206 over 54 holes. Thomas Curry added a 10th-place finish at 4-under 209, marking his second consecutive top-10 finish at the event.
Gomez, Fortlage, John Daly II and Cam Smith each shot 1-under-par 70 in the final round to lead Arkansas to a team score of 4-under 280.
The Razorbacks and Cowboys were separated by just one stroke through the front nine of the final round before Oklahoma State surged ahead on the back nine. OSU’s Gaven Lane recorded birdies on holes 12 and 13, a hole-in-one on 14 and another birdie on 15, while medalist Preston Stout added birdies on holes 12 and 13.
Arkansas rallied to tie Oklahoma State at 21-under late in the round. Fortlage birdied holes 12 and 13, and Daly added birdies on holes 13, 14, 16 and 17. However, Lane’s birdie on his second-to-last hole proved to be the difference in the one-shot victory.
Rice finished third at 10-under, followed by No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 18 Tennessee at 8-under. The rest of the top 10 included No. 27 Arizona (-2), No. 7 Arizona State (even), No. 36 Florida State (+5), No. 20 Stanford (+7) and No. 17 Georgia Tech (+8). No. 5 Vanderbilt placed 12th at 18-over.
Stout earned medalist honors with a 15-under 198 (67-63-68), winning by seven strokes. His total tied for the third-best score in tournament history and marked the largest margin of victory in the event’s 16-year history.
Fortlage and Gomez posted consistent rounds throughout the tournament. Fortlage recorded just three bogeys over 54 holes, tying for the fewest in the field, while Gomez had four. Fortlage also tallied 41 pars, tied for the second-most in the field.
In the final round, Gomez birdied the opening hole, dropped a shot on No. 3 and birdied No. 7 before closing with 11 pars for his 70. Fortlage opened with six straight pars, bogeyed No. 8, then birdied holes 12 and 13 before finishing with pars.
Smith finished tied for 30th at 2-over, while Daly tied for 35th at 3-over, with both players offsetting four bogeys with five birdies for rounds of 70. Curry followed an opening-round 67 with back-to-back rounds of 71 to finish 10th.
Niilo Maki-Petaja, competing as an individual, tied for 42nd at 5-over.
Arkansas will return to action March 16-17 at the All-American Intercollegiate at the Golf Club of Houston.
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