No. 9 Texas men’s golf took down No. 21 Baylor 4-1 in the championship match during the annual Big 12 Match Play Tournament on Wednesday.

The Longhorns took down the Bears to win the three-day tournament in Hockley, Texas, its first win of the season so far. 

The format consisted of four groups with either four or three schools per group. The winner of each group moved on to the semifinal match. Texas paired up with Cincinnati and Oklahoma in their group and handled both teams with ease. The Longhorns then went on to beat Oklahoma State in the semifinal before routing Baylor in the final. 

Texas sent five golfers to represent the Longhorns, including sophomore Christiaan Maas, graduate student and SMU transfer Nathan Petronzio, sophomore Jacob Sosa, graduate student Brian Stark and sophomore Keaton Vo. Each golfer, playing in four competitive rounds total, was expected to play a maximum of 72 holes in a three-day span.

Texas opened the tournament against Cincinnati and swept their match 5-0. Maas, Stark, Vo and Sosa all handled their matches with ease, and Petronzio closed out his matchup on the last hole to help the Longhorns sweep the Bearcats. Texas’ opening sweep put them in first place of their group and the frontrunner to advance to the semifinal round.

Texas matched up against Kansas State the next morning on Tuesday. Texas only needed a tie against the Wildcats to move onto the semifinal, but they managed more, with Stark, Petronzio and Vo all winning their matches. Vo tied and Maas lost, but the 3-1-1 record against Kansas State allowed for not just an advancement in the tournament but a one-seed placement in the playoff bracket against Oklahoma State. 

The semifinal would go on to be played in the afternoon, just a couple of hours later. Texas held off, winning three matches out of their five and guaranteeing a spot in the championship round. Stark, Maas and Sosa all won their matchups lifting the Longhorns to their third straight win of the tournament. Vo tied and Petronzio lost, but it wasn’t enough for the Cowboys as Texas moved on to face No. 21 Baylor in the championship round the next morning. 

Baylor, coming off a 4-1 win against Houston in the semifinal, failed to give Texas strong competition in the final, as the Longhorns won comfortably. Petronzio and Maas dominated their respective matches, winning by five holes. Stark and Sosa also won their matches by closer margins, and Texas took home the cup and won its first tournament of the season. 

Texas men’s golf takes a short break before traveling to Carmel, California to compete in the Cypress Point Invitational, hosted by Stanford University from Oct. 30-31.