North Carolina, Arizona each earn a share of team crown in The Prestige

   The spring sprint to the 2021 NCAA Championship is on in earnest now.

   With conferences like the Pac-12, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten shutting down golf for the fall portion of what would normally be a wraparound 2020-2021 season, the fall was relatively quiet.

   And while the Ivy League has decided that its golfers will not be allowed to compete this spring, for the most part, college golf is back on. There is precious little time between now and the time when the NCAA fills out its six regional fields.

   There were 24 teams gathered for The Prestige, which wrapped up Wednesday at the Greg Norman Course at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. and when the sun went down, not leaving enough time for a playoff, North Carolina, out of the ACC, had caught the Pac-12’s Arizona for a share of the team crown, each landing on 4-under-par 848.

   Pepperdine, which did play last fall, winning the East Lake Cup, looked like it was in command, leading Arizona and Arizona State by three shots with North Carolina eight shots behind the Wave following Tuesday’s  second round. Pepperdine was No. 1 in the Golfstat rankings last March when the 2019-’20 season came to a screeching halt because of the coronavirus pandemic.

   The Tar Heels, with only one tournament under their belts, put together a solid 4-under 280 over the 7,100-yard, par-71 Greg Norman Course layout while the Wildcats, behind one of the three individual co-champions, Trevor Werbylo, a senior from Tucson, Ariz. and No. 45 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), closed with a 1-over 285 to join North Carolina at 4-under 848. It was the second straight tournament victory for the Wildcats, who claimed the team crown in the Arizona Intercollegiate last month at the Sewailo Golf Course in Tucson, Ariz.

   North Carolina had registered a 2-under 282 in Monday’s opening round and added a 2-over 286 in Tuesday’s second round. Arizona added a 4-under 280 in the second round to its opening round of 1-under 283.

   Pepperdine opened with a 3-under 281 and added a solid 5-under 279 in the second round before stumbling only slightly in the final round with a 5-over 289. Still, the Wave finished just a shot behind the top two at 3-under 849.

    Arizona State had come out firing in Monday’s opening round, matching the low round of the tournament with an 8-under 276 behind a scintillating 7-under 64 by the red-hot David Puig, a sophomore from Spain and No. 16 in the WAGR who appeared to have his sights set on a third straight individual title this spring. Puig and the Sun Devils cooled off, though, as they posted a 3-over 287 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 7-over 291 that left them in fourth place, five shots behind Pepperdine at 2-over 854.

   It was another six shots back to Southern Methodist in fifth place at 8-over 860. The Mustangs, who snuck into the match-play bracket in the last NCAA Championship that was contested in the spring of 2019 at The Blessings in Fayetteville, Ark., opened with a 1-over 285 and matched par in the second round with a 284 before finishing up with a 7-over 291.

   Stanford, which captured the program’s ninth NCAA crown at The Blessings two springs ago, was another five shots behind SMU in sixth place with a 13-over 865 total in The Prestige, the Cardinal bouncing back from respective rounds of 292 and 297 the first two days by matching Arizona State’s opening-round 276 in Wednesday’s final round to surge up the leaderboard. It was Stanford’s first tournament of the season.

   The Big 12’s TCU and Texas Tech, which did play some fall golf, accounted for the next two spots in the team standings, the Horned Frogs finishing in seventh place, a shot behind Stanford at 14-over 866, and the Red Raiders three shots behind TCU in eighth with a 17-over 869 total.

   TCU sandwiched a 4-over 288 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of 5-over 289s. After opening with a 9-over 293, Texas Tech put together a solid 3-under 281 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with an 11-over 295.

   The two Big 12 entries also accounted for the other two individual co-champions as Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, a sophomore from Sweden and No. 9 in the WAGR, and TCU’s Jacob Skov Glesen, a sophomore from Denmark, joined Werbylo atop the leaderboard at 4-under.

   San Diego State, which bested a strong field to capture the team title in last month’s Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif., was a shot behind Texas Tech in ninth place with an 18-over 870 total. The Aztecs opened with a 6-over 290 and added a 9-over 293 before closing with their best round of the tournament, a 3-over 287.

   Werbylo got it up and down for par on the 18^th hole to preserve his share of the individual crown and Arizona’s piece of the team title. So yeah, kind of big. It capped a final round of 2-under 69. He had opened with a 2-over 73 and got into contention with a 4-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round.

  Backing up Werbylo for the Wildcats was Brad Reeves, a redshirt senior from Woodbridge, Calif. who was coming off an individual win in the Arizona Intercollegiate. Reeves was steady throughout, adding a 1-under 70 to his opening-round 72 before matching par in the final round with a 71 to join two other players in a trio tied for ninth place at even-par 213.

   Chase Sienkiewicz, a sophomore from Sacramento, Calif., was the low Wildcat in the opening round with a 68 and added a 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s second round. He struggled in the final round with a throw-out 76, but ended up in the group tied for 21^st place at 3-over 216.

   David Laskin, a redshirt senior from Elk Grove, Calif., also started strong with a 1-under 70, struggled a little in the second round with a 75 and closed with a clutch 1-over 72 to end up among the group tied for 29^th place at 4-over 217.

   Rounding out the Arizona lineup was Briggs Duce, a redshirt senior from Sierra Vista, Ariz. whose even-par 71 in the second round was a crucial counter for the Wildcats. Duce opened with a 74 and closed with a 73 and finished among the group tied for 36^th place at 5-over 218.

   Looks like Reeves, Laskin and Duce all took up the NCAA on its offer of an extra year of eligibility to make up for the spring of their senior seasons that was stolen by the pandemic. Sounds like there might be a feeling that there’s some unfinished business for them at Arizona.

   Leading the way for North Carolina were Ryan Burnett, a sophomore from Lafayette, Calif., and Austin Hitt, a senior from Longwood, Fla., both of whom were part of a trio of players who finished a shot behind the three co-champions at 3-under 210.

   Burnett had opened with a 2-under 69 and added a 74 in Tuesday’s second round before sparking the Tar Heels’ final-round surge with a 4-under 67, the best round of the day. Hitt matched par in the opening round with a 71 and added a 1-under 70 before closing with his best round of the tournament, a 2-under 69.

   Austin Greaser, a sophomore from Vadalia, Ohio, backed up the top two for the Tar Heels as he closed with an even-par 71 to end up in the group tied for 21^st place at 3-over 216. Greaser opened with a 1-under 70 and his second-round 75 was a throw-out for the Tar Heels.

   Rounding out the North Carolina lineup were a couple of Raleigh, N.C. guys, freshman Peter Fountain and senior Ryan Gerard. Fountain contributed a pair of 1-over 72s in the first two rounds before closing with a throw-out 74 as he finished among the group tied for 36^th place at 5-over 218. Gerard bounced back from an opening-round 79 with a pair of counters, a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round and a final-round 73 that left him in the group tied for 72^nd place at 9-over 222.

   Texas Tech’s Aberg arrived at The Prestige off an impressive victory over a loaded field of amateur golfers in the Jones Cup Invitational at the Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island, Ga. He opened with a 2-under 69 and added a 4-under 67 to build a two-shot lead over Puig. A final round of 2-over 73 enabled Werbylo and Skov Glesen to catch him for co-medalist honors at 209. Still, it was Aberg’s first collegiate tournament title.

   It was the first collegiate tournament victory as well for TCU’s Skov Glesen, who matched par with a 71 in the opening round and got within three shots of Aberg with a 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round. Skov Glesen finished up with a 1-under 70 to earn his share of the individual crown.

   Joining North Carolina’s Burnett and Hitt in the trio tied for fourth place at 210 was Pepperdine’s Dylan Mennate, a sophomore from Carlsbad, Calif. who closed with a 3-under 68 after matching par in each of the first two rounds with 71s.

   Arizona State’s Puig had captured individual titles in his first two tournament starts of the season, at the Southwestern by a whopping nine shots and then by four shots in The Amer Ari Invitational at the Hapuna Golf Course in Waimea, Hawaii. After scorching the Greg Norman Course for that opening-round 64, Puig came back to earth with a 74, but still only trailed Aberg by two shots heading into the final round.

Puig closed with another 74 to fall back into a tie for seventh place with Mennate’s Pepperdine teammate, Joey Vrzich, a senior from El Cajon, Calif. Vrzich got off to a fast start with a 4-under 67 and added a 73 before closing with a 1-over 72.

Joining Arizona’s Reeves in the trio tied for ninth place at even-par 213 were Puig’s Arizona State teammate, Chun An Yu, a fifth-year player from Taiwan and No. 5 in the WAGR, and Iowa State’s Lachlan Barker, a junior from Australia. An Yu matched par in the opening round with a 71 and added a 1-over 72 before finishing up with a 2-under 69 to earn a top-10 finish. Barker started strong with a 4-under 67 and cooled off with a 75 in Tuesday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.