Before the highly-anticipated PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf showdown, there was a smaller one. A quiet one, away from the hype reserved for the Capital One’s The Match. This Friday, Viktor Hovland and Talor Gooch teed up at the Oak Tree National Pro-Scratch Invitational in Edmond, Oklahoma. Thank the ‘Oak Tree Gang’ for that.

The Oak Tree Gang, as it was earlier known, and as they are trying to rebrand it again, was a group of players from Oklahoma who practiced or were members of Oak Tree National. Two Oklahoma State golfers, Joe Walser and Ernie Vossler, established the club in 1976. Both were inducted into the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame.

The Pete Dye-designed layout has hosted the 1984 U.S. Amateur, the 1988 PGA Championship, the 2006 Senior PGA Championship, and the 2014 U.S. Senior Open. It’s challenging. It’s a championship-level course for your practice rounds. The older ‘gang’ members include Scott Verplank, and Willie Wood, both OSU grads, and Brandt Jobe, a UCLA grad who found a home at Oak Tree National.

Currently, a bunch of members ply their trade in the PGA Tour. Besides Hovland, there is Chris Gotterup, this year’s Myrtle Beach Classic champion, Austin Eckroat, the Cogzinat Classic winner, Taylor Moore, last year’s Valspar winner, and others. 

All of them are OSU grads, but it’s not restrictive. There is Joshua Creel from the University of Central Oklahoma and Max McGreevy from the University of Oklahoma. Gotterup, himself, came to the state from New Jersey, just as Verplank came from Dallas. “We’ve tried to build something like the old Oak Tree Gang, but we needed some new young blood and that’s what we’ve worked really hard to do,” Tom Jones, president and COO told Golf Oklahoma.

The club hosts the annual Oak Tree National Pro-Scratch Invitational. Jones revealed the waiting list of pros to participate this year was long. He only expects it to grow longer each year. And why not? Ask Viktor Hovland, who lands in Edmond each year for the tournament.

Viktor Hovland edges past Talor Gooch 

It’s a 36-hole tournament where pros pair up with an amateur. Hovland paired up with fellow OSU golfer Ian Davis. Davis took charge on Thursday, whereas Hovland took matters into his own hands on Friday. The Norwegian fluttered seven birdies to nullify the threat from LIV Golf pro Talor Gooch and Kelsey Cline, who finished at 14-under, two shots behind Hovland and Davis. The 26-year-old pocketed $20K as the winner. 

Now, Hovland, an Oklahoma State University alum, has moved his residence to Florida. But there is no doubt where he feels at home. “It’s great to come back and see all the boys and some other guys from outside Oklahoma. This really shows how good Oak Tree National is as a club and a golf course and the whole thing.” 

No surprises there. Scott Verplank once called it home away from home. Hovland, born and brought up in Oslo and now a Palm Beach County golf royalty, is at home on his old ground.