SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Dylan Menante has played some special golf this week.
The senior at North Carolina had eight birdies in the first round but also had six bogeys. In Saturday’s second round, he was 4 under after 11 holes and tripled the 12th and finished at even.
Sunday was his best round yet at Grayhawk Golf Club at the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. Menante shot 3-under 67 and moved into solo second at 5-under 205, four shots behind Georgia Tech’s Ross Steelman with 18 holes to play.
He was also thinking of azaleas.
Menante isn’t afraid to admit he has thought plenty about the new exemption into the 2024 Masters the winner gets this week. Last month, Augusta National announced the champion of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship would begin receiving an exemption into the Masters. And it has players dreaming big in the desert.
“Coming down the last couple holes I was thinking about it today even,” Menante said. “It’s definitely something to factor, and it’s just an unbelievable opportunity.”
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Vanderbilt sophomore Gordon Sargent, the winner of the 2022 NCAA individual title, played 2023 Masters via a rare special invitation, the first in more than 20 years.
The inclusion of the college champion into the Masters field added further legitimacy to the NCAA Championship.
“And as it relates to the NCAA champion, as I stated, that is a major amateur championship, and I thought it was time that we acknowledged it,” Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley said last month.
That means come Monday afternoon in the desert, the winning player will have won a lot more than an NCAA title. He will have earned one of the most special invitations in sports.
“Obviously, in everybody’s mind, it’s a pretty special opportunity,” said Florida’s Fred Biondi, who is 4 under and T-3. “It’s definitely something in the background.”
Biondi said it’s not on his mind much during the round, but he admits he and his teammates have spoken with coaches about it. Menante agreed, saying after Sargent got the exemption this year, he and others were hoping it would become a regular thing.
Could be decision time, for some
However, one of the stipulations is a player must remain an amateur to earn the exemption. For Menante, that’s not as big of an issue since he is returning to North Carolina. But for Biondi and Steelman, it would give them a choice to make: remain an amateur for nearly an entire year or turn professional and dismiss the chance to drive down Magnolia Lane. At least for now.
“Hopefully I’ll have to decide,” Biondi said. “It’s a pretty good decision to make. The Masters is something every kid grows up dreaming about, but yeah, it would take away some other things.”
Steelman has spoken all week about his desire to turn pro after the NCAA Championship finishes. He said he hasn’t really thought about having to make a decision yet to play in the Masters.
“Just going to put it in the back of my mind until hopefully we come to that decision tomorrow afternoon,” Steelman said.
The rule to remain an amateur isn’t only a strain on players, but it affects coaches and their conversations with their teams.
Illinois coach Mike Small is a huge fan of the exemption and thinks it’s great for the college game. However, he also knows it can put a senior at a disadvantage.
“It’s their exemption, and they can do whatever they want with it,” Small said, “but I’m a big believer that a senior who wins and is turning pro should still be able to play. If they’re a senior and instead of turning pro, they have to be an amateur and sit around for nine more months, that just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
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