FAYETTEVILLE -- Mason Overstreet's wild experience as a freshman golfer for the Arkansas Razorbacks ended in a blaze of glory.
Overstreet, who was struggling due to a swing change to make the five-man lineup early in the spring semester, charged into a second-place finish at the NCAA championships this week. The Kingfisher, Okla., native fought through windy conditions Monday to improve eight spots against the nation's top collegiate golfers by shooting a 1-under 71 to grab runner-up honors behind medalist Braden Thornberry of Ole Miss.
Overstreet finished with a 7 under at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., four strokes behind Thornberry and the highest finish for a University of Arkansas, Fayetteville golfer since R.H. Sikes won the title in 1963.
"It's been a pretty crazy ride," Overstreet said Wednesday, noting that his second round 4-under 68 on Saturday was the key in the four-day event.
"That was really the turning point for me," said Overstreet, who was playing as an individual. "I was 6 under through 11 holes and I was tied for the lead at that point."
Overstreet finished 2 over on his final four holes to fall out of the lead, then an even-par 72 on Sunday left him tied for 10th place before his late surge.
Overstreet, who was accompanied at the tournament by Arkansas Coach Brad McMakin, his parents Todd and Shelly Overstreet and his older brother Seth, turned on his phone after completing his final round to find an overwhelming response.
"I had like 50 text messages and it was blowing up," Overstreet said. "There were people I hadn't spoken to in four or five years who just said, 'Congratulations, you did great. You represented us well.'"
Overstreet had an up-and-down run as a freshman, though McMakin's confidence in him didn't waver.
He was trying to sort out a swing change right after the fall semester to square up his club face and wound up playing as an individual in three events. To that point, he had been low man for Arkansas at a tournament only once, tying with teammates Alvaro Ortiz and Luis Garza at the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate in early October.
"Coach McMakin and I have been working all year on my ball striking," Overstreet said. "It was a little problematic at the beginning of the year. We worked hard all year and when we got to the SECs we found something that just clicked."
Overstreet said he was having trouble "shallowing" the club, which was causing him to hit to the right of his line too often.
"I finally got it probably about the start of April," Overstreet said. "I just kept improving and got back in the lineup at SECs and just went from there."
Overstreet led the Razorbacks with an even-par 210 at the SEC tournament, capped by a final-round 4-under 66, which tied him for 13th place. He played his way into the NCAA championship field with a final-round 67 at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional to finish sixth.
"My confidence has just gone through the roof," Overstreet said. "After SECs I was starting to gain it a little bit, then the final round of regionals, just ridiculous. It was awesome to shoot 5 under that last round to get to the national championships."
McMakin recruited Overstreet by stressing the potential he saw in the player from small-town Oklahoma. Overstreet put his game together in the course of a season to make his coach proud.
"What Mason accomplished this week is incredible," McMakin said. "He never lost focus or let the moment get to him. He is a special player and this is just the beginning of a great career."
Overstreet said he approached the championships with a big dose of confidence.
"Then this week, of course, finishing second, just really makes me feel like I belong, that I can play with all these guys out there," he said.
Sports on 06/01/2017