NCAA regionals up next for Pac-12 men's golf teams
SAN FRANCISCO-- Eight Pac-12 Conference men’s golf teams and two individuals will be in action this week as the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship gets underway at six regional sites May 14-16.
Representing the Pac-12 will be ARIZONA STATE, CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, OREGON, Conference champion STANFORD, UCLA, USC and WASHINGTON. Individual at-large selections include ARIZONA’s George Cunningham and OREGON STATE’s Alex Franklin.
NCAA REGIONAL SITES
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. – The Farms Golf Club (Par 72, 6,947 yards)
ARIZONA STATE (No. 1 seed) - The Sun Devils have won six regional titles. Only Oklahoma State (10) and Clemson (7) have more regional victories. Junior Jon Rahm (68.79 avg) and junior teammate Max Rottluff (69.27), each earned first team All-Pac-12 selection. The two stand 1-2 on ASU’s single-season list in stroke average, just ahead of Paul Casey who set the mark at 69.87 back in 1999-2000. The Sun Devils have posted five titles out of eight tournaments in their spring campaign. Out of 12 tournaments on the season, the squad has finished in the top two a total of eight times.
Chapel Hill, N.C. – Finley Golf Course (Par 72, 7,242 yards)
STANFORD (No. 2 seed) - The Cardinal successfully defended its Pac-12 title, as they overcame a 16-stroke deficit heading into the final round to win by 14 strokes. Sophomore Maverick McNealy (68.68 avg) earned Pac-12 medalist honors (18-under 262) for his fifth win of the season. The Pac-12 Golfer of the Year posted a total score of 262 to set a Pac-12 Championship four round low score record, while his final round 9-under 61 set a course record at Palouse Ridge.
Individuals: Arizona’s George Cunningham (71.49 avg). Named Second Team All-Pac-12, he shot a 4-under 276 to finish tied for 3rd at the Pac-12 Championships.
Bremerton, Wash. – Gold Mountain Golf Club (Par 72, 7,115 yards)
WASHINGTON (No. 2 seed) - Cheng-Tsung Pan (70.06 avg) and Corey Pereira (71.00 avg) pace the Huskies. Pan posted a consistent four rounds of 70 each round for a 280 even-par to finish in a tie for sixth at the Pac-12 Championships. Both Pan and Pereira earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors. This will be the 22nd regional appearance for the Dawgs, who have won a NCAA regional three times, including as recently as 2012. The Huskies have advanced to 10 of the past 12 NCAA Championships.
USC (No. 3 seed) – Freshman Sean Crocker (70.46 avg) is third nationally in stroke average among all freshmen. Crocker tied for sixth at the Pac-12 Championships and was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Rico Hoey (70.65 avg), who earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors last season, joined Crocker on the All-Pac-12 First Team. The Trojans posted four team victories this season.
Individuals: Oregon State’s Alex Franklin (72.27 avg).
Noblesville, Ind. – Sagamore Golf Club (Par 72, 7,173 yards)
OREGON (No. 2 seed) – Aaron Wise (71.11 avg), a Second Team All-Pac-12 honoree and a Pac-12 All-Freshman selection, finished second at the Pac-12 Championships at 8-under 272. Wise and junior Zach Foushee (71.59 avg) led a strong final round for the Ducks at the Pac-12 Championships as the team climbed into a second-place finish. This is the ninth-straight regional appearance for the Ducks under head coach Casey Martin.
UCLA (No. 3 seed) - Jonathan Garrick (70.82 avg), who finished in a tie for 3rd at the Pac-12 Championships with a score of 4-under 276, earned All-Pac-12 First Team honors. In 2008, the Bruins were the last team to win the NCAA title before the match-play format was adopted starting in 2009.
COLORADO (No. 9 seed) - It’s the sixth regional appearance in the last nine years for Colorado. Twins Jeremy Paul (71.72 avg) and Yannik Paul (72.13) lead the Buffs. Senior David Oraee (72.25 avg) had Colorado’s lone individual win this season, taking medalist honors at the CU Mark Simpson Invitational.
Lubbock, Texas – The Rawls Course (Par 71, 7,349 yards)
CALIFORNIA (No. 5 seed) – Shotaro Ban (71.72 avg) earned Second Team All-Pac-12 honors and leads a young Golden Bear lineup that includes four freshmen. KK Limbhasut (71.76 avg), who was Cal’s top finisher at the Pac-12 Championships with a tie for sixth place, earned Pac-12 All-Freshman team honors.
Live scoring will available for all regionals at www.golfstat.com
The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals, which will be held May 29-June 3, at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla. (University of South Florida, host).
The Pac-12 Conference has claimed 14 NCAA team titles and produced 17 NCAA individual champions. Since 2003, the Pac-12 has netted three team champions (2004 - California; 2007 - Stanford; 2008 - UCLA) and six individual champions (2003 - Alejandro Canizares, ASU; 2005 - James Lepp, WASH; 2007 - Jamie Lovemark, USC; 2008 - Kevin Chappell, UCLA; 2013 - Max Homa, CAL; 2014 – Cameron Wilson, STAN).
Hogan Award Finalists: A Pac-12 golfer is guaranteed to earn the Ben Hogan Award for the fourth consecutive year as the three finalists hail from the Conference of Champions – Arizona State’s Jon Rahm, Stanford’s Maverick McNealy and Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan. The last three winners were Patrick Cantlay (UCLA, 2012), Chris Williams (Washington, 2013) and Patrick Rodgers (Stanford, 2014).