NCAA regionals: Final-round recaps; who is headed to championship at Grayhawk

Many coaches agree that NCAA regionals is the most stressful tournament of the season. This year’s NCAA Division I men’s golf regionals certainly didn’t discredit that.

Here is a closer look at each of the six sites, highlighting who advanced to the NCAA Championship, who didn’t, and what the big stories were:

(Note: This is a running file and will be updated as information rolls in.)

Bath Regional

Eagle Eye GC, Bath, Michigan

Advancing teams: 1. Georgia (-29), 2. Illinois (-21), 3. Oregon (-14), 4. Florida (-12), 5. Texas (-10)
Just missed: 6. Kansas State (-7), 7. Michigan State (-1), 8. Liberty (+3)
Individual winner: Ben van Wyk, Georgia (-10)
Advancing individual: Luke O’Neill, Kansas State (-7)

Final results: Team | Individual

Big story: Texas will get the chance to defend its NCAA title.

The Longhorns arrived in Bath with just one returner from last year’s national championship squad – senior Mason Nome – in the lineup. Fellow senior Travis Vick failed to qualify and didn’t travel with the team, leaving Nome, senior transfer Brian Stark and three freshmen to navigate the postseason.

The new-look bunch checked the first box on Wednesday, closing in 2 over and hanging onto the fifth and final spot out of Eagle Eye Golf Club by three shots over Kansas State.

“This team is resilient,” Texas head coach John Fields said, “but this is also a good team. Like it or not, you kind of assume the value of what has happened in the past, and that’s not fair to these guys. They’re carrying that around with them anyway, and they definitely want to be there [Grayhawk]. There were so many moving parts this year, and I’m proud of them. That’s for damn sure.”

Fields put his team, which played the toughest schedule in the country, through the wringer with a six-round qualifier between conference and regionals – and during graduation. Vick didn’t make it out, but Nome, freshmen Tommy Morrison and Keaton Vo took advantage to grab the three available spots alongside exempt players, Stark and freshmen Christiaan Maas. Morrison, who will now head straight to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, to team up with Tony Romo in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, led the way in Bath with a T-8 while Maas and Stark chipped in with top-25s.

Nome backed up with a 77 Wednesday to end up T-54, but the senior has perhaps played more pressure golf in the last month than anybody in the country, winning an individual event in Oklahoma before flying straight the ASU’s event to join his team. He also advanced through U.S. Open locals and was T-12 at Big 12s to go along with two strenuous qualifiers prior to regionals. He made need a massage and a few days off.

In fact, the whole team may need a recharge as it prepares for a 16th straight NCAA Championship appearance, the NCAA’s longest active streak.

As Fields said, he now wants his team to “free up.” They’ve made it.

Norman Regional

Jimmie Austin OU GC, Norman, Oklahoma

Advancing teams: 1. Alabama (-28), 2. Oklahoma (-25), 3. Colorado (-23), 4. Texas Tech (-22), 5. Duke (-21)
Just missed: 6. North Florida (-20), 7. Wake Forest (-10), 8. LSU (-9)
Individual winner: Ludvig Aberg, Texas Tech (-14)
Advancing individual: Will King, Kansas (-9)

Final results: Team | Individual

Big story: A couple of weeks ago, Alabama head coach Jay Seawell reckoned that perhaps some people had forgotten about his Crimson Tide, which had missed out on an NCAA regional last season because of the .500 rule and hadn’t competed in an NCAA Championship since finishing runner-up to national champion Oklahoma State in 2018 at Karsten Creek.

“We ain’t dead yet,” Seawell exclaimed. “I know we haven’t been in the arena for a few years, but we’re not dead yet, I promise.”

Still kickin’.

A year ago, Alabama also was supposed to host a regional, but it had to back out because of golf course conditions that were not championship quality. Oklahoma was awarded that regional, and so it was fitting that the Tide found themselves at Jimmie Austin this week for their regional return. They disappoint either, firing 28 under to clip the host Sooners by three shots for the title. Freshmen Nick Dunlap and Jonathan Griz finished T-4 and T-11, respectively, while senior Canon Claycomb, whom Seawell says has matured tremendously and become a great leader this season, tied for ninth.

The Tide have had their fair share of ups and downs this season, but at their best, they’ve proven they can hang with anyone. They beat Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech at the Linger Longer earlier this spring before taking the top-ranked Commodores to the final hole in four matches in a 4-1 quarterfinal loss at SECs.

“I think we’re as good as a lot of teams that people consider great in the country,” Seawell said, “because we’ve looked them in the eye before.”

Eyes still open.

Chip shots: Kansas’ Will King and Ole Miss’ Hugo Townsend played off for the individual spot out of this regional, and it was King, after eight extra holes, punching his ticket.

Auburn Regional

Auburn University Club, Auburn, Alabama

Advancing teams: 1. Auburn (-1), 2. Vanderbilt (E), 3. Chattanooga (+2), 4. Ohio State (+8), 5. Colorado State (+10)
Just missed: 6. Washington (+16), 7. Indiana (+17), 8. Tennessee (+25)
Individual winners: Maxwell Moldovan, Ohio State, and Christoph Bleier, Colorado State (-7)
Advancing individual: Drew Salyers, Indiana (-4)

Final results: Team | Individual

Salem Regional

The Cliffs at Keowee Falls, Salem, South Carolina

Advancing teams: 1. Georgia Tech (-53), 2. Arkansas (-45), 3. North Carolina (-43), 4. New Mexico (-42), 5. Texas A&M (-29; won playoff)
Just missed: 6. Clemson (-29; lost playoff), 7. Georgia Southern (-28), 7. San Diego State (-28), 9. Northern Illinois (-23)
Individual winner: Ryan Burnett, North Carolina (-17)
Advancing individual: Sam Lape, Furman (-15)

Final results: Team | Individual

Morgan Hill Regional

The Institute GC, Morgan Hill, California

Advancing teams: 1. Mississippi State (-1), 2. BYU (+4), 3. Florida State (+7), 4. Baylor (+9), 5. Pepperdine (+11)
Just missed: 6. California (+14), 7. Missouri (+23), 8. Arizona (+25), 8. Louisville (+25), 10. North Carolina State (+26)
Individual winner: Luke Clanton, Florida State (-6)
Advancing individual: Riley Lewis, Loyola Marymount (-4; won playoff)

Final results: Team | Individual