Summy's fast finish leads Oklahoma to team crown in Southern Highlands Collegiate

 

   It was odd to have an eight-team match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. last spring without a Big 12 team in the mix.

   Oklahoma hardly had what you would call a bad postseason as the Sooners won the team crown in the Big 12 Championship played on the challenging Prairie Dunes Country Club layout in Hutchinson, Kan. and in challenging conditions.

   Oklahoma was the runnerup as the two seed in the NCAA’s Norman Regional played on its home course, the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, with Drew Goodman, now a junior home boy from Norman, Okla. and No. 24 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Ben Lorenz, now a senior from Peoria, Ariz. and No. 20 in the WAGR, finishing 2-3, respectively, in the individual standings.

   Oklahoma never got it going at Grayhawk, though, and it’s no secret that they set the bar a little higher than that in Norman.

   Beginning in the summer, Oklahoma will join the deepest conference in college golf, the Southeastern Conference. It’s a football move, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out on the golf course.

   Oklahoma beat a loaded 15-team field this week, capturing the team title in the Southern Highlands Collegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nev. There are a ton of college golf tournaments this time of the year, but the Southern Highlands has evolved into one of the top-tier events.

   With the wind playing some tricks over the 7,570-yard, par-72 Southern Highlands layout, particularly during Monday’s second round, it was Oklahoma that dealt with the adversity the best.

   The Sooners opened with a 4-under 284 and grabbed a three-shot lead over Atlantic Coast Conference power North Carolina going into the final round by gutting out a 3-over 291 in Monday’s second round.

   Behind a sizzling 6-under 66 by Jase Summy, a sophomore from Keller, Texas, Oklahoma finished up with a 7-under 281 to end up with an 8-under 856 total and a three-shot victory over hard-charging Auburn, a future rival for the Sooners in the SEC.

   Summy had opened with a 1-under 71 and matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72. His final-round surge left him with a 7-under 209 total and a runnerup finish, a shot behind individual champion Ian Gilligan, a junior at Florida from Reno, Nev. and No. 33 in the WAGR.

   Gilligan opened with a sparkling 5-under 67 and a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round left him two shots behind pace-setting Jack Lundin, a senior at Missouri from Sioux Falls, S.D. and No. 79 in the WAGR, going into the final round.

   Gilligan closed with a solid 2-under 70 to finish with an 8-under 208 total to claim his second career collegiate victory and his first as a Gator.

   The win also earned Gilligan, who began his college career at Long Beach State, a sponsor’s exemption into next fall’s Shriners Children’s Open, a PGA Tour stop held at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. For a kid from Reno, playing in a PGA Tour event in his home state will be a little extra special.

   Auburn, behind Brendan Valdes, a junior from Orlando, Fla. and No. 29 in the WAGR, and Jackson Koivun, the Tigers’ talented freshman from Chapel Hill, N.C. and No. 11 in the WAGR, closed with the best team round of the tournament, a sparkling 11-under 277, to earn runnerup honors with a 5-under 859 total, three shots behind Oklahoma.

   Valdes sparked Auburn’s final-round surge with a 5-under 67 that left him alone in third place in the individual standings with a 6-under 210 total, a shot behind Oklahoma’s Summy. Valdes matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round.

   Koivun had registered back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a 1-under 71 to finish in a tie for fourth place with Missouri’s Lundin at 5-under 211.

   Auburn won the team crown as a three seed in the Auburn Regional on its home course, the Auburn University Club, last spring and finished six shots out of a playoff for the final spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk.

   Finishing in third place, seven shots behind Auburn with a 2-over 866 total was Oklahoma’s ancient Big 12 rival Texas, which will join the Sooners in the move to the SEC this summer. The Longhorns matched Oklahoma’s opening round of 4-under 284, but struggled a little in blustery conditions in Monday’s second round with a 7-over 295 before finishing up with a 1-under 287.

   Texas, which was defending the national championship it won in 2022, advanced to the NCAA Championship last spring by finishing in fifth place as a three seed in the Bath Regional, but, like Oklahoma, never got it going at Grayhawk.

   Reigning NCAA and SEC champion Florida, behind individual champion Gilligan, finished two shots behind Texas in fourth place with a 4-over 868 total. The Gators grabbed the lead with an opening round of 10-under 278, but struggled mightily in the difficult conditions in Monday’s second round with a 301 before finishing up with a 1-over 289.

   Perennial Big Ten power Illinois was just a shot behind Florida in fifth place with a 5-over 869 total as the Fighting Illini opened with a 2-over 290, struggled to a 302 in Monday’s second round and closed with a 1-under 287.

   Illinois was one of the last eight teams still standing for match play in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring, the Illini falling to Florida State in a really tight quarterfinal match.

   Reigning Mountain West champion San Diego State finished two shots behind Illinois in sixth place with a 7-over 871 total, the Aztecs opening with a solid 6-under 282 and staying in the hunt with a 10-over 298 in Monday’s second before closing with a 3-over 291.

   North Carolina, No. 1 in somebody’s poll, only trailed Oklahoma by three shots going into the final round after adding 7-over 295 in Monday’s second round to its solid opening round of 5-under 283. But the Tar Heels could only manage a 6-over 294 to finish in seventh place with an 8-over 872 total that left them just a shot behind San Diego State in seventh place.

   North Carolina reached the NCAA Championship’s final four at Grayhawk last spring after claiming the top seed in qualifying for match play before falling to ACC rival Georgia Tech in a hard-fought semifinal.

   Backing up Summy for Oklahoma was Goodman, who finished in a tie for sixth place with Texas’ Tommy Morrison, a sophomore from Dallas, Texas and No. 91 in the WAGR, at 4-under 212. The always steady Goodman signed for back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Ryder Cowan, a freshman from Edmond, Okla., was solid for the Sooners, sandwiching a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round with a pair of even-par 72s to finish in the group tied for 21^st place with a 2-over 218 total.

   Lorenz contributed a 1-under 71 to Oklahoma’s strong finish as he finished among the group tied for 34^th place with a 4-over 220 total. Lorenz opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 4-over 76 in Monday’s second round.

   Rounding out the Oklahoma lineup was Jaxon Dowell, a redshirt junior and another Edmond guy who finished in a tie for 41^st place with a 5-over 221 total. Dowell opened with a solid 1-under 71 before adding a pair of 3-over 75s in the final two rounds.

   Missouri’s Lundin opened with a sizzling 6-under 66 and took a two-shot lead in the individual standings into the final round after adding a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round. Lundin slipped back in the final round with a 3-over 75 to fall back into a tie for fourth place with Auburn’s Koivun at 5-under.

   Texas’ Morrison finished strong with a 5-under 67 in the final round that left him in a tie for sixth place with Oklahoma’s Goodman at 4-under. Morrison had matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 1-over 73 in Monday’s second round.

   New Mexico’s Albert Boneta, a redshirt senior from Spain, finished a shot behind Goodman and Morrison in eighth place with a 3-under 213 total. Boneta opened with a solid 3-under 69 and added a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 2-under 70.

   Nathan Petronzio, a graduate student from Bee Cave, Texas, gave Texas a second player inside the top 10 as he finished in a tie for ninth place with San Diego State’s Shea Lague, a junior from Jamul, Calif., and Georgia’s Connor Creasy, a graduate student from Abingdon, Va., each landing on 2-under 214.

   Petronzio added a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round to his opening round of 1-under 71 before closing with a 2-over 74.

    After opening with a 2-under 70, Lague matched par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s. Creasy got off to a nice start with a 3-under 69, but struggled a little to a 3-over 75 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70.

   Auburn got a routinely consistent performance from redshirt junior Carson Bacha, the PIAA Class AAA champion in 2019 as a senior at Central York. Bacha struggled a little in the tough conditions of Monday’s second round with a 4-over 76 after opening with a 1-under 71, but he contributed a 3-under 69 to the Tigers’ strong finish to end up among the group tied for 15^th place at even-par 216.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Delaware opens spring campaign by finishing in a tie for fifth in Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational

 

   It’s been a while since I checked in on the Delaware women’s team and there’s been a lot going on in Newark.

   Patty Post got the women’s program off the ground before becoming the director of golf programs, overseeing both the men’s and women’s teams. Post got a five-year extension last summer, a validation of the tremendous job she is doing.

   In November, it was announced that Delaware was going to join Conference USA beginning in the summer of 2025. It is mostly a football move with the Blue Hens moving up from the Football Championship Division (FCS) – I kind of liked the much less complicated Division I-AA designation back in the day – to the Football Bowl Division (FBS) or what used to be known simply as Division I.

   While the Coastal Athletic Association, known as the Colonial Athletic Association and the CAA either way, is still Division I for golf, the competition might be a little stiffer in golf in Conference USA.

   Delaware was the runnerup in last spring’s CAA Championship and will have two more shots to capture the conference title and earn the CAA’s automatic berth in an NCAA regional.

   Delaware opened the spring portion of its 2023-2024 season in the Reynolds Lake Oconee Invitational at the Great Waters Golf Course in Greensboro, Ga. over the weekend.

   Host Mercer dominated the proceedings, winning by a whopping 26 shots with Mikayla Dubnik, a junior from Murrayville, Ga., and Camilla Jarvela, a senior from Finland, finishing 1-2, respectively, in the individual standings.

   Delaware finished in a tie for fifth place with Boston College, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, each landing on 42-over 906.

   The Blue Hens opened with an 8-over 296 Friday over the 6,107-yard, par-72 Great Waters layout that left them only two shots behind Mercer. Delaware, however, struggled to a 312 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 10-over 298.

   Delaware was led by Alisa Khokhlova, a junior from Russia who finished among a trio of players tied for ninth place at 7-over 223. Khokhlova opened with a solid 2-under 70 and struggled to a 79 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Oihana Etxezarreta, a veteran senior for the Blue Hens from Spain, finished in a tie for 21^st place with a 226 total. Etxezarreta added a 77 in Saturday’s second round to her opening round of 4-over 76 before finishing up with her best round of the weekend, a 1-over 73.

   Freshman Marissa Malosh, a two-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at South Fayette, and Lilia Henkel, a junior from Grand Rapids, Mich., both ended up in the group tied for 31^st place, each ending up with a 230 total.

   Malosh matched par in the opening round with a 72 and struggled to a 79 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a solid 2-over 74. After opening with a 4-over 76, Henkel registered back-to-back 77s in the final two rounds.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Christina Carroll, a senior from Bear, Del. and a product of William Penn High School who finished in the group tied for 43^rd place with a 233 total. Carroll opened with a solid 2-over 74, but struggled to an 80 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 79.

   Carroll is a Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour success story. She was showing up in this blog years ago and it was fun to watch her scores improve year after year.

   It was a tremendous accomplishment last summer when Carroll qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles. Carroll bounced back from an opening-round 78 at Bel-Air with a solid 71, although she didn’t make the cut for match play.

   There’s a neat story on the Delaware website right now about Carroll, titled “From the 302, For the 302,” a reference to the northern Delaware area code which includes the University of Delaware and Carroll’s home town of Bear. The Delaware roster has players from all over the country and all over the world, but Carroll is a First Stater through and through.

   Carroll said she was proud to have her Delaware bag with her when she teed it up in the U.S. Women’s Open. And I’m sure Post has been thrilled to have a native Delawarean be such a stalwart for the Blue Hens these last few years.

   A couple of freshmen, Julia Paviet from France and Emilie Clauson from Denmark, competed as individuals for Delaware at Lake Oconee.

   After opening with an 80, Paviet posted an 82 in Saturday’s second round before closing with an 81 to finish in the group tied for 71^st place with a 243 total. Clauson added an 82 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 83 before closing with an 81 to finish in 75^th place with a 246 total.

   Mercer, a Southern Conference representative, closed with an 8-under 280, easily the best team round of the weekend, to finish with a 1-under 863 total. The Bears had opened with a 6-over 294 and got it in at 1-over 289 in Saturday’s second round when a lot of the other teams struggled in what, I’m guessing, might have been difficult conditions.

   Mercer teed it up in the inaugural National Golf Invitational last spring, a tournament put together by Golfweek for teams that just missed earning an at-large bid to one of the NCAA regionals, sort of like an NIT for golf, held at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz. and the Bears finished in third place.

   It was in the middle of May when there was a lot of golf going on, but I don’t think I ever gave Penn State, a program (full disclosure: Penn State Class of 1977) that this blog generally follows pretty closely, its props for winning the team title in the National Golf Invitational, 11 shots clear of Big Ten rival Iowa.

   The Nittany Lions were led at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes by now junior Michelle Cox, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during a standout scholastic career at Emmaus who earned a runnerup finish in the individual standings.

   Turned out to be a great going-away present for Penn State head coach Denise St. Pierre, who announced days later that she was retiring after more than 40 years with the program in one way or another. Basically, she arrived in Happy Valley as a player in 1979 and never left.

   OK, back at Lake Oconee, it was a two-horse race for the individual title between Dubnik and Jarvela.

   Dubnik matched par in the opening round with a 72 and her 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round gave her a one-shot edge on Jarvela going into the final round. Another 2-under 70 in the final round gave Dubnik a 4-under 212 total and a two-shot victory over Jarvela for Dubnik’s second career collegiate victory.

   Jarvela also matched par in the opening round with a 72 and trailed Dubnik by just a shot after adding a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round. Jarvela closed with another 1-under 71 to earn runnerup honors with a 2-under 212 total, two shots behind her teammate. Dubnik and Jarvela were the only two players to finish under par for 54 holes.

   Western Kentucky, a future rival of Delaware’s in Conference USA, was the runnerup in the team standings at Lake Oconee as the Hilltoppers opened with a 300 and added a 5-over 293 in Saturday’s second round before closing with an 8-over 296 that left them 26 shots behind Mercer with a 25-over 889 total.

   Western Kentucky was led by Catie Craig, a junior from Sautee Macoochee, Ga. who finished in third place in the individual standings, four shots behind Mercer’s Jarvela with a 2-over 218 total. After opening with a 1-over 73, Craig added a 75 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a solid 2-under 70.

   Craig was the Conference USA individual champion last spring, the first Hilltopper in the history of the program to win an individual conference crown. She then became the first Western Kentucky player to tee it up in an NCAA Regional when she was invited to compete in the Athens Regional as an individual.

   It was another seven shots behind Western Kentucky to Chattanooga, another Southern Conference representative, in third place in the team standings with a 32-over 896 total. The Moccasins opened with a 9-over 297 and added a 304 in Saturday’s second round before closing with their best round of the weekend, a 7-over 295.

   East Carolina, playing out of the American Athletic Conference, got it into red figures in the final round with a 2-under 286 as the Pirates finished a shot behind Chattanooga in fourth place with a 33-over 897 total. East Carolina had opened with a 305 and added a 306 in Saturday’s second round.

   Boston College shared fifth place with Delaware in the 14-team field as the Eagles closed with a 6-over 294 to join the Blue Hens at 42-over 906, nine shots behind East Carolina. Boston College struggled to a 309 in the opening round before adding a 303 in Saturday’s second round.

   Jarvela’s fellow Finn, freshman Ellas Maki-Tanila, gave Mercer a third finisher inside the top eight as she closed with a sparkling 4-under 68, which matched the low round of the tournament, to end up in eighth place with a 5-over 221 total. Maki-Tanila had struggled to an 80 in the opening round, but bounced back with a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round.

   Katie Scheck, a junior from Greensboro, Ga. who transferred to Mercer after spending the first two seasons of her college career at Penn State, had three straight 3-over 75s to finish among the group tied for 15^th place with a 9-over 225 total.

   Rounding out the Mercer lineup was Eujin Pyon, a redshirt senior from Macon, Ga. who closed with a solid 1-under 71 to finish in the group tied for 27^th place with a 228 total. Pyon opened with a 3-over 75, but struggled to an 82 in Saturday’s second round.

   Craig’s Western Kentucky teammate, Addie Westbrook, a senior from Campbellsville, Ky., finished in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings with Western Carolina’s Elizabeth Lohbauer, a senior from Venice, Fla., and Chattanooga’s Violeta Fernandez-Tagle, a freshman from Spain, each ending up a shot behind Craig at 3-over 219.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Westbrook matched the low round of the tournament with a 4-under 68 in tough conditions in Saturday’s second round before struggling a little in the final round with a 77.

   After signing for back-to-back 2-over 74s in the first two rounds, Lohbauer closed with a 1-under 71. Fernandez-Tagle added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 74 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Boston College’s Cynthia Zhang, a sophomore from Milpitas, Calif., finished alone in seventh place with a 4-over 220 total as she matched par in each of the last two rounds with back-to-back 72s after opening with a 4-over 76.

   Joining Delaware’s Khokhlova in the tie for ninth place at 7-over, two shots behind Mercer’s Maki-Tanila, were Fernandez-Tagle’s Chattanooga teammate Nieves Martin, a junior from Spain, and East Carolina’s Macie Burcham, a redshirt sophomore from Greensboro, N.C.

   After opening with a 5-over 77, Martin matched par in each of the last two rounds with a pair of 72s. Burcham added a 4-over 76 in Saturday’s second round to her opening-round 75 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sargent, Vanderbilt keep moving forward with victory in Watersound Invitational at Shark's Tooth

 

   Vanderbilt can only keep moving forward. Looking back would be just too painful.

   The Commodores were the best team in college golf for the majority of the wraparound 2022-2023 season. They fell to Florida in the match-play final of the toughest conference in college golf, the Southeastern Conference. Certainly no shame in that.

   Vanderbilt was the top seed in the NCAA’s Auburn Regional and still considered the No. 1 team in the country. The Commodores were the runnerup to Auburn, playing on its home course, by a shot.

   And then Vanderbilt got to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. and just failed to fire. The Commodores would have been a tough out in match play having been battled-tested by the SEC’s match-play format. But they didn’t give themselves that chance.

   The experience of going through the SEC’s match-play championship did prove out to be helpful – for Florida. It was the Gators who survived the three-match gauntlet to capture the NCAA crown.

   Vanderbilt wilted in the final rounds of qualifying for match play, finishing nine shots out of the top eight that earned spot in the match-play bracket.

   All you can do is move on.

   Gordon Sargent, a junior from Birmingham, Ala. and the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), certainly did. A few weeks after the NCAA Championship, Sargent earned the silver medal as the low amateur in the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club.

   Sargent went 4-0 to lead the United States to a hard-fought 14.5-11.5 victory over Great Britain & Ireland in a Walker Cup Match staged at the home of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews. In October, Sargent again represented the United States as the Red, White & Blue claimed the Eisenhower Trophy with a runaway victory in the World Amateur Team Championship at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

   Sargent led the way as Vanderbilt went wire to wire to successfully defend its title in the Watersound Invitational with a nine-shot victory, its fourth tournament win of the 2023-’24 season, over a loaded field at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course at Panama City Beach, Fla. The tournament wrapped up Wednesday.

   The aftermath of the weather system that plagued Florida last weekend made for some tough conditions for the Presidents Day Monday opening round, but the Commodores seemed unbothered, starting with a 10-under-par 278 over the 7,246-yard, par-72 Shark’s Tooth layout.

   Vanderbilt added another 10-under 278 in Tuesday’s second round and closed with a 9-under 279 for a 29-under 835 total.

   The two teams that finished in a tie for second place in the Watersound with 20-under 844 totals, nine shots behind Vanderbilt, were two Atlantic Coast Conference teams that did earn a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring, Florida State, the tournament co-host along with Alabama, and Georgia Tech.

   The Seminoles suffered what to be a bitter loss to cross-state rival Florida, the eventual national champion, in the semifinals at Grayhawk while Georgia Tech, the reigning ACC champion, got past ACC rival North Carolina in the semifinals before falling to Florida in the Final Match at Grayhawk.

   Florida State matched par in the opening round at Shark’s Tooth with a 288 and added a 9-under 279 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with an 11-under 277.

   The Seminoles might have finished closer to Vanderbilt if they had included Gray Albright, a senior from Ocala, Fla., in their lineup. Competing as an individual, Albright closed with a 4-under 68 to capture the individual title with a 10-under 206 total.

   He had opened with a 4-under 68 before adding a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Apparently Albright didn’t get the memo that he was being chased by the Nos. 1 and 2 players in the WAGR in No. 1 Sargent and No. 2 Christo Lamprecht, a senior at Georgia Tech from South Africa.

   Sargent was right with Albright, adding a 70 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 4-under 68. He closed with a 3-under 69, but came up just short of catching Albright with a 9-under 209 total.

   Lamprecht had opened with a 1-under 71 and then grabbed the lead going into the final round with the best individual round of the tournament, a sizzling 7-under 65, in Tuesday’s second round. But another 1-under 71 in the final round wasn’t enough to hold off Albright and Lamprecht had to settle for a share of runnerup honors with Sargent at 9-under.

   Georgia Tech had opened with a 1-under 287 and added a 7-under 281 in Tuesday’s second round, behind Lamprecht’s 65, before finishing up by matching the low team round of the tournament, a 12-under 276.

   A fourth ACC team made it into the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring and that was Virginia, the Cavaliers falling to eventual national champion Florida in the quarterfinals.

   Virginia finished in fourth place in the Watersound, five shots behind its ACC brethren Florida State and Georgia Tech with a 15-under 849 total. After opening with a 2-under 286, the Cavaliers recorded a solid 10-under 278 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 3-under 285.

   Big 12 power Oklahoma State was another five shots behind Virginia in fifth place with a 10-under 854 total. The Cowboys struggled a little in the opening round with a 6-over 294, but bounced back by matching the low round of the tournament, a 12-under 276, in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 4-under 284.

   Oklahoma State failed to advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring as a four seed in the Las Vegas Regional.

   Yet another ACC power, Clemson, finished four shots behind Oklahoma State in sixth place with a 6-under 858 total. The Tigers added a solid 8-under 280 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 283 before struggling a little in the final round with a 7-over 295.

   It was a frustrating finish to the 2022-’23 season for Clemson as the Tigers, seeded ninth, lost in a playoff to Texas A&M for the fifth and final berth to the NCAA Championship out of the Salem Regional.

   Big Ten power Ohio State finished a shot behind Clemson in seventh place in the Watersound with a 5-under 859 total. The Buckeyes, who opened the spring portion of the season with a team title in the Southwestern Invitational in California, matched par in the opening round with a 288, added a 4-under 284 in Tuesday’s second round and closed with a 1-under 287.

   Ohio State advanced to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring by finishing in fourth place as a five seed in the Auburn Regional and made it to the final day of qualifying for match play at Grayhawk when the Buckeyes won a playoff against Texas Tech to survive the cut to the low 15 teams after 54 holes.

   Notre Dame, another ACC entry, finished a shot behind Ohio State in eighth place with a 4-under 284 total as the Fighting Irish added a 287 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening round of 4-under 284 before closing with a 1-over 289.

   It was the spring opener for Penn, out of the Ivy League, and the Quakers were in over their heads a little -- not necessarily a bad thing to play up against tough competition -- as they finished last of the 12 teams with a 47-over 911 total.

   Penn did get better each round as the Quakers added a 303 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 313 before closing with a 7-over 295.

   Backing up Sargent for Vanderbilt was Cole Sherwood, a senior from Austin, Texas and No. 19 in the WAGR who finished in a tie for fifth place with a 7-under 209 total. After struggling a little with a 2-over 74 in the opening round, Sherwood ripped off a 6-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 3-under 69.

   Jackson Van Paris, a junior from Pinehurst, N.C. and No. 25 in the WAGR, gave the Commodores three players in the top seven as he finished among a group of five players tied for seventh place with a 6-under 210 total. Van Paris was only two shots off the individual lead after signing for back-to-back 3-under 69s in the first two rounds before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   A pair of graduate students from Houston, Matthew Riedel, No. 27 in the WAGR, and William Moll, No. 18 in the WAGR, rounded out the Vanderbilt lineup.

   Riedel closed with a solid 3-under 69 to finish in the group tied for 14^th place with a 4-under 212. Riedel had opened with a 2-under 70 before adding a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round.

   After opening with a 1-under 71, Moll struggled a little in Tuesday’s second round with a 77 before matching par in the final round to finish among the group tied for 45^th place with a 4-over 220 total.

   By winning the Mark H. McCormack Medal for 2023 as the player who spent the most time at the top of the WAGR, Sargent earned starts in the U.S. Open and The Open Championship in 2024. He could easily have decided to just leave college golf behind and turn pro.

   Not sure what the professional ambitions are for Sherwood, Riedel and Moll – a degree from a school like Vanderbilt certainly gives you options -- but they’re all back at Vandy for the 2023-’24 season and I’m fairly certain they’re aiming high.

   Oh yeah, Wells Williams, a sophomore from West Point, Miss., competed as an individual for Vanderbilt and finished in a tie for 12^th place with a 5-under 211 total, so the Commodores certainly have depth. After opening with a solid 3-under 69, Williams registered back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds.

   Alabama’s Thomas Ponder, a senior from Dothan, Ala. and No. 84 in the WAGR, finished a shot behind Sargent and Lamprecht in fourth place with an 8-under 208 total. Ponder sandwiched a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round with a pair of sizzling 6-under 66s.

   Joining Vanderbilt’s Sherwood in the tie for fifth place at 7-under, a shot behind Ponder, was Florida State’s Cole Anderson, a redshirt senior from Camden, Maine and No. 50 in the WAGR. Anderson opened with a 1-under 71 and followed that up with back-to-back 3-under 69s in the final two rounds.

   Joining Vanderbilt’s Van Paris in the quintet tied for seventh place at 6-under were Anderson’s Florida State teammate, Luke Clanton, a sophomore from Hialeah, Fla. and No. 16 in the WAGR, Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai, a sophomore from Singapore and No. 72 in the WAGR, Ohio State’s Jackson Chandler, a fifth-year player from Dublin, Ohio, and Clemson’s Jonathan Nielsen, a senior from Denmark.

   Clanton struggled a little in the opening round with a 2-over 74 before bouncing back with back-to-back 4-under 68s in the final two rounds. After opening with a 1-over 73, Tai posted a 1-under 71 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing with a flourish, a sparkling 6-under 66.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Chandler carded a 4-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70. Nielsen opened with a solid 3-under 69 and added a 2-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-under 71.

   Virginia’s Ben James, a sophomore from Milford, Conn. and No. 5 in the WAGR, joined Vanderbilt’s Williams in the tie for 12^th place at 5-under as he matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 4-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71.

   James might have been the best freshman in the country a year ago and yes, that includes Nick Dunlap, who left Alabama last month to turn pro after winning The American Express on the PGA Tour as an amateur.

   James finished in sixth place in the individual standings in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk while leading the Cavaliers into the match-play bracket. James was a teammate of Sargent’s on the winning U.S. side the Walker Cup at St. Andrews.

  Those of us who follow college golf closely already know this, but Dunlap’s win in the California desert last month drove the point home: These top college players are not that far away from competing at the next level.

   Chandler’s Ohio State teammate, graduate student Neal Shipley, a member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s 2018 PIAA Class AAA Championship team and No. 38 in the WAGR, finished in the group tied for 45^th place in the Watersound with a 4-over 220 total.

   Shipley, the runnerup to Dunlap in last summer’s U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado, opened with a solid 3-under 69, then struggled a little, recording a 4-over 76 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 75.

   Shipley opened the spring portion of this season with a really impressive individual title in the Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.

   Did somebody say Pittsburgh Central Catholic? A more recent PCC graduate, Rocco Salvitti, is a freshman at Notre Dame and was the Irish’s top finisher in the Watersound, ending up in the group tied for 14^th place with a 4-under 212.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Salvitti posted back-to-back 2-under 70s in the final rounds. The kid elbowed his way into the first five for Notre Dame last fall and it looks like he’s going to be tough to dislodge.

   Salvitti was a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier in high school and finished in the top 10 all four times, including a runnerup finish as a senior in 2022. Salvitti also led Pittsburgh Central Catholic to the PIAA Class AAA team crown in 2022 at Penn State.

   Graduate student Palmer Jackson, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Franklin Regional in 2018, is back for a fifth year at Notre Dame. He finished in the group tied for 34^th place with a 1-over 217 total, opening with a 2-under 70 and adding a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 74.

   Notre Dame has another PIAA Class AAA champion on its roster in sophomore Calen Sanderson, who captured the title in the pandemic fall of 2020 as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   Sanderson did not make the trip to Panama City Beach with Notre Dame. Just shows you how tough it can be to make the top five or six at any ACC school.

   I was a little out on some of the state stuff last summer, but Sanderson was the Pennsylvania Golf Association’s Player of the Year in 2023, primarily as a result of his tie for 20^th place in the Pennsylvania Amateur at The Pittsburgh Field Club and a really strong runnerup finish in the Pennsylvania Open at the Country Club of York.

   Ben Scott, a junior from Manhattan Beach, Fla., led the way for Penn as he finished in the group tied for 49^th place with a 5-over 221 total. Scott opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 76 in Tuesday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Backing up Scott for the Quakers were Jimin Jung, a senior from Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and Max Fonseca, a freshman from Miami, Fla., both of whom landed in the group tied for 67^th place at 228.

   Jung struggled to an 81 in the opening round, but bounced back in Tuesday’s second round by matching par with a 72 before closing with a 3-over 75. Fonseca added a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round to an opening-round 76 before finishing up with a 78.

   Hayden Adams, another freshman from Lexington, Ky., finished alone in 74^th place as he struggled in the first two rounds, adding an 81 in Tuesday’s second round to an opening-round 84 before finding his game in the final round with a 2-under 70.

   George Roessler, a junior from North Palm Beach, Fla., never got it going at Shark’s Tooth as he added an 84 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 83 before closing with an 84 to finish in 75^th place with a 253 total.

   Steven Lee, a sophomore from Scarsdale, N.Y., competed as an individual for Penn and finished in 73^rd place with a 233 total as he opened with a 2-over 74 and added a 77 in Tuesday’s second round, but struggled to an 82 in the final round.

   Scott, Jung and Roessler were in the lineup for Penn as the Quakers finished in fifth place in last spring’s Ivy League Championship at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn.