Chen, Gamboa lead Cougars in Big 12 Match Play Tournament

Houston men’s golf competed in the Big 12 Match Play Tournament in Salt Lake City, Utah, Oct. 12-14, tying the Baylor Bears for ninth place with a 2-2 overall record.

Houston, the 15th seed, won over No. 7 Colorado and No. 14 Iowa State but fell to No. 2 Texas Tech and No. 7 Kansas State.

Junior Hsuan-Yi Chen led Houston with an undefeated 3-0 record, while senior Sebastian Gamboa followed closely with a 3-1 mark. Junior Sacha Ruiz and senior Chi Chu Chen each added two wins in the weather-shortened tournament.

After jumping out to a 1-up lead in the final match against Iowa State’s No. 12 senior Jackson McCommon, Hsuan-Yi Chen fell into a two-hole deficit on the par-5 fourth hole. Chen regained the lead with back-to-back pars on No. 7 and 8 before clinching the match 1-up with a birdie on No. 11.

Chen started match three with a hot start as well, winning his first two holes against freshman Oscar Stendahl. He then clinched the match against Stendahl with an eagle-3 on the 12th hole.

Chen secured his victory with a birdie on the par-3 11th hole against freshman Colt Farrow.

Gamboa started his final match of the tournament by winning his first two holes against Iowa State freshman Ben Wheeler. Gamboa sealed the victory by earning par on the par-3 11th hole.

The Merida, Mexico native won both matches against Texas Tech senior Tim Wiedemeyer on the opening day of the tournament.

The match went back and forth, with Gamboa holding a lead through three holes before Wiedemeyer rallied to snatch the lead with a birdie on the 10th hole. Gamboa took it back with a birdie of his own on the 17th hole.

Gamboa earned a birdie on his first hole of the second match against Colorado junior Asher Whitaker. They both halved the next four holes after Whitaker within 1-down on the eighth hole. Gamboa clinched the match with a birdie on the 12th hole.

Gamboa’s lone defeat came against Kansas State junior Erik Holmberg.

Ruiz’s two wins came against Colorado senior Brandon Knight and Kansas State sophomore Ville Virkkala. Ruiz fell, however, to Texas Tech senior Ben Gregg and Iowa State senior Owen Sawyer.

Arizona State and Oklahoma State tied for first in the tournament.

Next, the Cougars will compete in the Abilene Christian Intercollegiate at Halbert National in Granbury from Oct. 19-21.