OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Harding senior Sam Tandy became the first Bison golfer ever to shoot under 200 in a 54-hole tournament and won the NCAA Regional Preview on Tuesday. The event was hosted by Southern Nazarene University at the par 70, 6,944-yard Kickingbird Golf Course.
Tandy, a native of Fayetteville, Arkansas, shot 11-under 199 to win the event by one stroke over Nick Canales of Central Oklahoma. It was Tandy's third career individual medalist honor. He also won the 2021 GAC Preview and the 2022 The Mule.
Tandy shot 5-under 65 in Round 1, only one stroke off the school record round. He completed the suspended second round with a 4-under 66 and shot 2-under 68 in Round 3 to finish off the victory.
Harding's previous 54-hole record was 202 by Manuel Cue Vargas at the 2022 GAC Preview.
Harding's five-player team finished seventh in the 21-team field. The Bisons shot 13-over 853, the fourth-best 54-hole score in program history.
Dennis Staykov was Harding's second-best finisher. He tied for 34th at 6-over 216. Finlay Cummings tied for 51st at 10-over 220, and Leo Maciejek and Jose Peralta tied for 61st at 12-over 222.
Harding plays its final tournament of the fall next Monday and Tuesday at the DBU Classic, hosted by Dallas Baptist University at the Golf Club of Dallas.
The Harding men's golf team shot a 3-over 283 on Monday in Round 1 of the NCAA Regional Preview on Monday before Round 2 was suspended until Tuesday morning. Rogers State and Henderson State lead the tournament after one round at 1-under 279.
Sam Tandy led the Bisons with a 5-under 65 in Round 1 and finished alone in second place. Tandy's career-best round included five birdies and 13 pars and was only one stroke off Harding's school record. Jose Peralta parred 16 of 18 holes in Round 1 and finished at 2-over 72 and tied for 33rd. Finlay Cummings matched Peralta's 2-over 72 and also tied for 33rd.
Dennis Staykov finished the first round at 4-over 74 and tied for 52nd. Leo Maciejek tied for 66th after Round 1 after shooting a 6-over 76.
The Bisons will resume Round 2 and finish Round 3 on Tuesday morning, teeing off at 8 a.m.
