Texas Men’s Golf advances to eighth-straight NCAA Championship
AUBURN, Ala. -- The No. 13 Texas Men’s Golf team punched its ticket to the upcoming 2014 NCAA Championship on Saturday afternoon after narrowly claiming the fifth spot at the NCAA Auburn Regional with a 54-hole total of 20-over-par 884 (293-300-291) at Auburn University Club. Texas squeaked past sixth-place New Mexico (302-295-288=885) by one stroke to join Alabama (-11), Kennesaw State (+11), Auburn (+18) and Virginia Tech (+18) next week at Prairie Dunes Country Club.
Texas’ ticket to the finals marks its eighth-straight (2007-14) appearance in the national championship. It is the second-longest active streak behind UCLA’s 12-consecutive appearances (2003-14).
Freshman Beau Hossler led the Longhorns with a sixth-place finish on the individual leaderboard at 2-under 214 (71-71-72). Junior Kramer Hickok finished seven strokes back (75-75-71=221) and tied for 25th after carding Texas’ low final-round score of 1-under 71.
Junior Brax McCarthy (74-76-73=223) and freshman Gavin Hall (74-78-75=227) tied for 29th and 45th places, respectively, while senior Toni Hakula (74-79-76=229) rounded out the Texas squad in a tie for 52nd.
The 2014 NCAA Championship will feature the top collegiate golfers in America and the game’s future stars. Featuring a new tournament format, 30 teams and six student-athletes – who advanced from NCAA Regional Qualifying – will compete in an individual stroke-play format over 54 holes (Friday-Sunday, May 23-25). Golf Channel’s live coverage will begin on Monday, May 26, when the top 40 individuals and ties will compete in the fourth and final stroke-play round to determine the individual national champion. On Tuesday, May 27 (quarterfinals and semi-finals) and Wednesday, May 28 (finals), the low eight teams from the 54-hole qualifying will compete in match play competition to determine the team national champion.
Golf Channel NCAA Men’s Division I Golf Championships Tournament Coverage
Monday, May 26 Final Round, Individual Stroke Play 4-7 p.m. CT (Live)
Tuesday, May 27 Semifinals, Match Play
Wednesday, May 28 Finals, Match Play
NCAA Auburn Regional
Auburn University Club (par 72 – 7,254 yards)
Final Team Standings
1. Alabama – 287-284-282=853 (-11)
2. Kennesaw State – 297-291-287=875 (+11)
3. Auburn – 294-292-292=878 (+14)
4. Virginia Tech – 301-291-290=882 (+18)
5. TEXAS – 293-300-291=884 (+20)
----top five teams advance to NCAA Champions----
6. New Mexico – 302-295-288=885 (+21)
T7. UNCG – 298-296-292=886 (+22)
T7. Brigham Young – 299-294-293=886 (+22)
T9. Louisville – 297-305-286=888 (+24)
T9. UC Davis – 300-304-284=888 (+24)
11. Sam Houston State – 300-303-286=889 (+25)
12. Colorado – 296-299-306=901 (+37)
Final Player Leaderboard
1. Marco Iten, Austin Peay State* - 71-70=141 (-3) – waiting on final round score as of 3 p.m. CT
2. Cory Whitsett, Alabama – 71-69-72=212 (-4)
T3. Klein Klotz, Sam Houston State – 76-71-66=213 (-3)
T3. Tom Lovelady, Alabama – 72-71-70=213 (-3)
T3. Scott Vincent, Virginia Tech – 73-70-70=213 (-3)
6. Beau Hossler, TEXAS – 71-71-72=214 (-2)
T7. Niclas Carlsson, Auburn – 70-72-73=215 (-1)
T7. Trey Mullinax, Alabama – 71-73-71=215 (-1)
T7. Robin Sciot-Siegrist, Louisville – 69-76-70=215 (-1)
T7. Luke Vivolo, UC Davis – 71-75-69=215 (-1)
* - denotes competing as an individual
Additional Texas Players
T24. Kramer Hickok – 75-75-71=221 (+5)
T29. Brax McCarthy – 74-76-73=223 (+7)
T45. Gavin Hall – 74-78-75=227 (+11)
T52. Toni Hakula – 74-79-76=229 (+13)
Post-tournament Quotes
Texas Head Coach John Fields
On advancing to the NCAA Championship: “(The team) really pleased that we got through and appreciative, because you’ve got very good teams here, but we’re not happy with our season and they’re not happy with how we played. The wonderful thing is that we’ve got a tremendous opportunity to enjoy ourselves at Prairie Dunes and they’re competitive people. For them, the enjoyment comes from being in the hunt, and you can’t get in the hunt if you’re not there.”
