It wasn’t exactly a spring to remember for Arkansas golf a year ago, but the Razorbacks seemed to have turned the disappointment of last year into determination in the wraparound 2025-2026 season.
Arkansas rallied with a 5-under-par 275 in the final round Wednesday to capture the team title in Watersound Invitational, edging Southeastern Conference rival Vanderbilt by a shot at The Third Course at the Watersound Club in Panama City, Fla.
It was the second tournament title of the season for Arkansas, which also claimed the crown in its home event, the Blessings Collegiate Invitational at its home course, the Blessings Golf Club, in the fall.
Arkansas grabbed the lead with a sparkling 11-under 269 over The Third Course, which measures 7,252 yards and plays to a par of 70, in last Monday’s opening round and fell six shots behind Vanderbilt when the Commodores ripped off a 13-under 267 in Tuesday’s second round.
But a solid final round gave Arkansas a 19-under 821 total, one shot better than Vanderbilt’s 18-under 822 total.
Arkansas only had two players finish in the top 10 and one of them, Thomas Curry, a junior from Texarkana, Ark., was competing as an individual.
But the five Razorbacks that comprised the starting lineup all finished among the top 21. Maybe nobody was great, but everybody was pretty good and that was good enough to edge powerful Vanderbilt for the team title.
Erich Fortlage, a sophomore from Portugal, joined Curry in the group of five players who finished in a tie for seventh place at 5-under 205.
Fortlage fueled Arkansas’ fast start with a sparkling 4-under 66 in the opening round and matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 70 before closing with a 1-under 69.
After opening with a 3-under 67, Curry carded back-to-back 69s in the final two rounds to join the quintet at 5-under. Curry didn’t count for Arkansas at The Third, as the course at Watersound is commonly referred, but in the run of a long season, he absolutely did count.
Curry is part of a standard that’s been set with this Arkansas team. Fall off a little and there’s another guy ready to take your spot.
Last spring, Arkansas failed to advance to the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. as a nine seed in the Amherst Regional. Somehow the Razorbacks dropped three spots in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings from No. 8 to No. 11 in the aftermath of the Watersound victory.
Vanderbilt was also at the Amherst Regional last spring and advanced to the NCAA Championship by finishing second as a three seed. The Commodores, however, were unable to earn a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa, making it a disappointing spring by their standards.
Vanderbilt opened with a 7-under 273 and then went really low with that 13-under 267 in Tuesday’s second round. The Commodores closed with a 2-over 282 to finish a shot behind Arkansas at 20-over.
Vanderbilt was led by Michael Riebe, a freshman from Eincinitas, Calif. who shared medalist honors with two other freshmen, Texas Christian’s Nathan Miller of Dallas, Texas and Mississippi’s Daniel Tolf of Sweden as all three ended up at 9-under 201.
In college golf these days, it’s not unusual for a freshman to make an immediate impact. These kids arrive on the scene ready to compete and the top of the leaderboard in the Watersound made that point abundantly clear.
Tolf carded back-to-back 5-under 65s in the first two rounds to take a four-shot lead into the final round. Tolf backed off a little with a 1-over 71 in the final round.
That allowed Vandy’s Riebe and TCU’s Miller to catch him at 9-under.
Riebe opened with a sparkling 6-under 66 and fell five shots behind Tolf with a 1-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round. Riebe, however, closed with a bookend 66 to get a share of medalist honors.
After opening with a 1-under 69, Miller joined Riebe at 5-under with a 66 through two rounds. Miller then closed with another 4-under 66 to join Tolf and Riebe at 9-under. It was the first collegiate victory for each player.
Vanderbilt had another strong showing from Wells Williams, a senior from West Point, Miss. who joined the quintet tied for seventh place at 5-under.
Williams, the last freshman to earn an individual victory for Vandy three years ago, added a 3-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 68 before matching par in the final round with a 70.
Upstart TCU, behind Miller, finished eight shots behind Vanderbilt in third place with a 10-under 830 total.
The Horned Frogs, out of the Big 12, matched par in the opening round with a 280 and then added back-to-back 5-under 275s in the final two rounds. TCU climbed a couple of spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 43 to No. 41 with its strong showing in the Watersound.
TCU was unable to advance to the NCAA Championship last spring as a nine seed in the Auburn Regional.
Florida State, an Atlantic Coast Conference power, was a shot behind TCU in fourth place with a 9-under 831 total.
The Seminoles were solid throughout, adding a 3-under 277 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 276 before closing with a 278.
Florida State was led by Tyler Weaver, a senior from England and No. 9 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who ended up a shot behind the three co-medalists in fourth place with an 8-under 202 total.
Weaver was a member of the Great Britain & Ireland team that fell to the United States in the Walker Cup Match last summer at the Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula.
The Luke Clanton era at Florida State ended up one frustrating shot out of a match-play berth in last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa.
The Seminoles moved up two spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 41 to No. 39 following their fourth-place finish in the Watersound.
Mississippi, behind Tolf, finished two shots behind Florida State in fifth place with a 7-under 873 total.
Ole Miss was only four shots behind Vanderbilt going into the final round after the Rebels opened with a 10-under 270 and added a 2-under 278 in Tuesday’s second round. Ole Miss closed with a 5-over 285.
Ole Miss reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring before falling to eventual national champion Oklahoma State. The Rebels lost Michael La Sasso, the NCAA individual champion at La Costa last spring, to LIV Golf during college golf’s midseason pause.
Ole Miss remained at No. 9 in the Scoreboard rankings following its fifth-place finish in the Watersound.
Michigan State, a Big Ten representative, finished a shot behind Old Miss in sixth place in the 12-team field with a 6-under 834 total.
After opening with a 2-over 282, the Spartans added a 2-under 278 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a solid 6-under 274 that matched the low team round of the final round.
Michigan State had a pair of finishers in the top seven as Ashton McCulloch, a graduate student from Canada, finished alone in fifth place with a 7-under 203 total and Caleb Bond, a senior from Williamston, Mich., joined the quintet tied for seventh at 5-under.
After matching par in the opening round with a 70, McCulloch recorded a sparkling 5-under 65 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 68.
Bond also matched par in the opening round with a 70 and added a 1-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing strong with a 4-under 66.
Michigan State was unable to earn a trip to the NCAA Championship as a 10 seed in the Tallahassee Regional last spring.
Backing up Fortlage for Arkansas was Niilo Maki-Petaja, a junior from Finland, as he finished in a tie for 12th place at 3-under 207. Maki-Petaja contributed back-to-back 3-under 67s to the Razorbacks’ cause in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 3-over 73.
Gerardo Gomez, a sophomore from Mexico, was just behind Maki-Petaja in the group tied for 14th place at 2-under 208 as he opened with a 2-under 68, added a 3-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round and contributed a 3-under 67 to Arkansas’ closing kick.
Rounding out the Arkansas lineup were two of the players among the group tied for 21st place at 1-under 219, Cam Smith, a junior from Shelbyville, Ky., and the Razorbacks’ most familiar player, senior John Daly II, the son of the two-time major champion from Clearwater, Fla. and No. 55 in the WAGR.
Smith opened with a solid 2-under 68 and matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 70 before closing with a 1-over 71.
Daly, who reached the quarterfinals of last summer’s U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco before falling to eventual champion Mason Howell, matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 70 after opening with a 1-over 71 and then contributed a 2-under 68 to Arkansas’ closing push.
Mississippi State’s Jackson Skinner, a freshman from Birmingham, Ala., finished alone in sixth place in the individual standings, a shot behind Michigan State’s McCulloch with a 6-under 204 total. Skinner opened with the low individual round of the tournament, a sizzling 6-under 64 and then matched par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 70s.
Rounding out the fivesome tied for seventh place at 5-under was Kentucky’s Jacob Settles, a sophomore from Winchester, Ky., as he added a sparkling 4-under 66 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening round of 1-over 71 before closing with a 68.
A familiar name from his days as a standout on the Philadelphia Section PGA Junior Tour, Jack Tarzy, was in the lineup for Navy, a Patriot League representative.
Tarzy, a senior from Medford, N.J. who played scholastically at The Hun School of Princeton, finished in the group tied for 38th place with a 2-over 212 total. Tarzy was really solid, opening with a 2-under 68 and matching par in the second round with a 70 before closing with a 4-over 74.
The Midshipmen finished last of 12 teams with a 31-over 871 total.
Was hoping for a Nick Gross sighting at the Watersound, which was hosted by Alabama. The Crimson Tide, out of the SEC, finished in eighth place with a 3-under 837 total.
Not only was Gross, the PIAA Class AAA champion as a junior at Downingtown West in 2021, not in the lineup, but Alabama brought three players to compete as individuals for its home tournament and Gross wasn’t in that group either.
Haven’t heard about any injuries. They don’t put out an injury report in college golf like they do for the NFL. It might just be that Gross, a sophomore, is getting beat out in the team qualifiers for Alabama’s tournaments. I’ve seen some pretty good players have trouble making it out of team qualifiers.
It might be as simple as a guy going through a swing change. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as the spring wears on.
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