It was only three springs ago that Texas claimed the fourth national championship in program history at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
So much has changed in Austin since then, but not the expectations that the Longhorns will be competing at the highest levels of college golf each season.
The biggest change, of course, is that Texas is now a member of the Southeastern Conference. If there was ever any kind of an argument as to which is the toughest conference in men’s college golf – and there really wasn’t much of argument – the addition of the Longhorns and their ancient Big 12 rival Oklahoma to the SEC for the wraparound 2024-2025 season puts all that to rest.
The SEC Championship at the Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course on Saint Simons Island, Ga. in late April will be as competitive, if not moreso, then the NCAA Championship a month later at the La Costa Spa & Resort in Carlsbad, Calif.
Regardless of how it performs at Sea Island, Texas will be looking for redemption if it can get to La Costa.
The Longhorns won the team crown at Whispering Pines Golf Club in their farewell appearance in the Big 12 Championship last spring and followed that up by claiming the team title as the host of the NCAA Austin Regional on their home course, the University of Texas Golf Club.
But Texas never really fired at La Costa, never really threatening to earn a spot in the match-play bracket.
Texas looked like it means business this spring as the Longhorns rallied to claim its first tournament title of the season in the Southwestern Invitational, which wrapped up Wednesday at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
The Southwestern is the first of the big Division I men’s events when the second half of the wraparound season tees off. It always draws a strong field and offers an early barometer on the relative strengths of teams that might be capable of making a deep postseason run in May.
Texas, No. 5 in the Scoreboard, presented by clippd, rankings at college golf’s midseason pause, posted a sparkling 7-under 277 over the 7,081-yard, par-71 Sherwood layout in Tuesday’s second round that left the Longhorns in a tie for second place with San Diego State, two shots behind UNLV, going into Wednesday’s final round.
Texas had struggled in the opening round with a 5-over 289. But the Longhorns carried the momentum from their strong second round into Wednesday’s final round as they closed with a 6-under 278 to finish one shot clear of San Diego State, the three-time reigning Mountain West champion, with an 8-under 844 total.
The Aztecs, No. 32 in the Scoreboard rankings, had grabbed the lead following Monday’s opening round with the low team round of the tournament, an 8-under 276. They struggled a little in Tuesday’s second round with a 6-over 290, but closed with a solid 5-under 279 to finish a shot behind Texas in second place with a 7-under 845 total.
San Diego State failed to advance out of the West Lafayette Regional as a six seed last spring.
Texas was led by its South African standouts, Daniel Bennett, a freshman, and Christian Maas, a junior who is No. 17 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
Bennett finished with a flourish, posting a 4-under 67 in Wednesday’s final round to end up among a trio of players tied for second place with a 4-under 209 total. He had opened with a 1-over 72 before adding a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round.
Bennett finished a shot behind individual winner Wes Williams, a junior at Vanderbilt from West Point, Miss. and No. 47 in the WAGR.
Maas had a share of the individual lead going into the final round after he opened with a 2-under 69 and added a 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round. Maas closed with a 2-over 73 to finish among a foursome of players tied for fifth place at 3-under 210 total.
San Diego State was led by Justin Hastings, a senior from the Cayman Islands and No. 36 in the WAGR who finished among the trio tied for second place along with Texas’ Bennett and Florida’s Ian Gilligan, a senior from Reno, Nev. and No. 6 in the WAGR.
Hastings sandwiched an even-par 71 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 2-under 69s to join the group at 4-under.
One of Texas’ new SEC rivals, Vanderbilt, No. 15 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished three shots behind San Diego State in third place with a 4-under 848 total.
The Commodores, who earned a spot in the match-play bracket in last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa, opened with a 2-under 282 and added a 3-over 287 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 5-under 279.
Williams was just one shot out of the lead going into the final round as he matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 3-under 68. He closed with a final round of 2-under 69 to capture his second career victory with a 5-under 208 total.
Such was the core of veteran talent at Vandy last season that Williams wasn’t even in the lineup as the Commodores rolled to the team title in the West Lafayette Regional and reached the NCAA Championship quarterfinals.
Perennial West Coast Conference power and tournament host Pepperdine, No. 19 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished four shots behind Vanderbilt in fourth place with an even-par 852 total.
After opening with a 7-over 291, the Waves bounced back with a solid 4-under 280 in Tuesday’s second round and a 3-under 281 in the final round.
Florida, another SEC power and No. 14 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished five shots behind Pepperdine with a 5-over 857 total.
The Gators, just two springs removed from the fifth national championship in the history of their proud program, opened with a 9-over 293 before adding a solid 3-under 281 in Tuesday’s second round and closing with a 1-under 283.
Florida was led by Gilligan, who bounced back from an opening round of 1-over 72 with a sparkling 4-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 70 that gave him a share of second place with Texas’ Bennett and San Diego State’s Hastings at 4-under.
Florida advanced to the NCAA Championship last spring in defense of its 2023 national title by finishing in third place as a three seed in the West Lafayette Regional, but the Gators were unable to earn a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa.
UNLV, one of San Diego State’s Mountain West rivals, took a two-shot lead into the Wednesday’s final round, but the Rebels, No. 44 in the Scoreboard rankings, struggled in the final round with a 299 that left them in a tie for sixth place with new Big Ten entry Southern California, No. 43 in the Scoreboard rankings, each landing on 11-over 863.
UNLV, which failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a 10 seed at the Stanford Regional last spring, had opened with a 1-over 285 before adding a 5-under 279 in Tuesday’s second round.
It was an unusual spring of 2024 when the NCAA regionals teed off without Southern Cal in any of the fields.
The Trojans opened with a solid 1-under 283 at Sherwood, but struggled a little in Tuesday’s second round with a 295 before bouncing back with a 1-over 285 in the final round to get their share of sixth place with UNLV.
Backing up Bennett and Maas for Texas was another of the Longhorns’ big guns, Tommy Morrison, a junior from Dallas, Texas and No. 11 in the WAGR who finished among a quintet tied for 13th place with an even-par 213 total.
Morrison struggled to a 6-over 77 in the opening round, but then found his groove, registering a 2-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a sparkling 67.
Morrison was one of 16 players who teed it up at courses in the Jupiter, Fla. area last month in a practice session for candidates for the U.S. Walker Cup team, which will be played in the summer at the iconic Cypress Point Club, an American classic on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula.
Luke Potter, a junior from Encinitas, Calif., gave Texas a fourth finisher inside the top 18 in the Southwestern as he finished among a trio of players tied for 18th place with a 1-over 214 total.
After opening with a 2-over 73, Potter recorded a 1-over 70 in Tuesday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.
Potter was one of the most coveted recruits in the country when he joined the program at Arizona State. He transferred to Texas after spending two years with the Sun Devils.
Rounding out the Texas lineup in the Southwestern was Jack Gilbert, a sophomore from Houston, Texas who finished in 61st place with a 13-over 226 total. Gilbert added a 3-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 75 before closing with a 77.
Joining Texas’ Maas in the quartet tied for fifth place at 3-under were UCLA’s Pablo Ereno, a senior from Spain, San Jose State’s Zubair Firdaus, a senior from Malaysia, and Vanderbilt’s Ryan Downes, a freshman from Longmeadow, Mass. who was competing as an individual.
Ereno saved his best for last, firing a sizzling 5-under 66 in the final round, the low individual round of the tournament, to make a big move up the leaderboard. Ereno had matched par in the opening round with a 71 before adding a 2-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round.
Firdaus was steady throughout, adding a 2-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 70 before matching par in the final round with a 71.
Like Ereno, Downes finished fast, closing with a 4-under 67 to join the group at 3-under. Making a strong bid for a spot in Vanderbilt’s first five, Downes had opened with a 2-over 73 before adding a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round.
Washington’s Jack Murphy, a freshman from Ireland, also finished strong, signing for a 4-under 67 in the final round to end up alone in ninth place with a 2-under 211 total. Murphy got off to a slow start with a 3-over 74 before adding a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round.
Rounding out the top 10 was a trio of players tied for 10th place at 1-under 212, including UNLV’s Zach Little, a sophomore from England, Gilligan’s Florida teammate, Jack Turner, a sophomore from Orlando, Fla. and No. 38 in the WAGR, and Hastings’ San Diego State teammate Chanachon Chokprajakchat, a junior from Thailand.
Little had a share of the individual lead with Texas’ Maas going into the final round as Little had added a sparkling 4-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 70. Little, however, struggled a little in the final round with a 4-over 75 to fall back into the tie for 10th place.
After opening with a 3-over 74, Turner rattled off back-to-back 2-under 69s in the final two rounds.
Chokprajakchat matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 71 after opening with a 2-under 69. He finished up with a 1-over 72.
No comments:
Post a Comment