The Florida men’s golf team earned a No. 2 seed in one of the six regionals May 14-16 that will determine the field for the 112th NCAA Division I Men’s Championships May 26-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo.
But coach Buddy Alexander’s Gators won’t be playing in Florida. Instead, the NCAA men’s golf committee has sent the eighth-ranked Gators to the Austin (Texas) Regional, which will be played at the University of Texas Golf Club.
The Gators, led by SEC individual champion Billy Horschel, will be seeking their ninth straight national-championship field appearance and their 26th in the last 27 seasons in the 13-team, 10-individual competition.
Horschel, a senior from Grant, Fla., will be joined by juniors Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Tyson Alexander (Gainesville) and seniors Toby Ragland (Jacksonville) and Will Strickler (Charlottesville, Va.).
Two other regionals – at Daly City, Calif. (hosted by the University of San Francisco) and Stillwater, Okla. (hosted by Oklahoma State University) – also have 13-team, 10-individual fields. The other three regionals – at Galloway, N.J. (hosted by Columbia University), at Bowling Green, Ky. (hosted by Western Kentucky University) and at Sorrento, Fla. (hosted by the University of Central Florida and the Central Florida Sports Commission – have 14-team, 5-individual fields.
The low five teams and low individual not on those teams after 54 holes will advance to the championship field at the Inverness Club, a Donald Ross design which plays as a par 71 of 7,255 yards after renovations by George and Tom Fazio in 1978 and Arthur Hills in 1999.
Inverness, where the late Byron Nelson was head professional from 1940-44, has hosted four U.S. Opens in 1920 (Ted Ray of Great Britain won over a field that included Bobby Jones and Harry Vardon), 1931 (Billy Burke beat George Von Elm by one shot after a pair of 36-hole playoffs), 1957 (Dick Mayer beat Cary Middlecoff in an 18-hole playoff that also included the Open debut of Jack Nicklaus) and 1979 (Hale Irwin won the second of his three Opens but the tournament was noted for the planting of the infamous “Hinkle Tree” near the eighth tee after the first round to prevent Lon Hinkle and other players from taking a shortcut on the hole); the 1973 U.S. Amateur (Craig Stadler); two PGA Championships in 1986 (won by Bob Tway on a holed bunker shot at the 18th hole to beat Greg Norman) and 1993 (Paul Azinger in a two-hole with Norman); and the 2003 U.S. Senior Open (Bruce Lietzke).
Fifth-ranked Stanford has the top seed in the Austin Regional. Other teams along with Stanford and Florida participating in the regional are (followed by their latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index ranking) Texas Tech (19), UNLV (21), Texas (25), California (32), Lamar (34), Michigan (48), Texas-Arlington (53), Virginia Tech (61), Mississippi State (58), New Mexico State (82) and Jackson State (252).
Last year, the Gators finished fourth in the Central Regional (there were only three regionals last year – East, Central and West) at the Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio, and finished 11th in the NCAA Championship team event hosted by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind.
Florida will be seeking a fifth national title to ones it won in 1968, 1973, 1993 and 2001, the last two under Alexander. The Gators also have two individual champions – Bob Murphy in 1966 and Nick Gilliam in 2001.
NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
REGIONAL ASSIGNMENTS
The top five teams and top individual not on those teams advance to the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships hosted by the University of Toledo at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio, May 26-30.
1. AUSTIN, TEXAS
Host: University of Texas.
Dates: May 14-16.
Site: University of Texas Golf Club (par 71, 7,412 yards).
Teams: 1. Stanford; 2. Florida; 3. Texas Tech; 4. Texas; 5. UNLV; 6. California; 7. Lamar; 8. Michigan; 9. Texas-Arlington; 10. Virginia Tech; 11. Mississippi State; 12. New Mexico State; 13. Jackson State.
Individuals: 1. Glenn Northcutt (Auburn); 2. Ken Looper (New Orleans); 3. Cole Moreland (Auburn); 4. Adam Cornelson (New Orleans); 5. Cedric Scotto (Southeastern Louisiana); 6. Jeff Gerlich (Texas State); 7. Matthew Carvell (Southeastern Louisiana); 8. Corey Roberson (Texas State); 9. Fergal Rafferty (Sam Houston); 10. Gonzalo Berlin (Jacksonville State).
2. GALLOWAY, N.J.
Host: Columbia University.
Dates: May 14-16.
Site: Galloway National Golf Club (par 71, 7,022 yards).
Teams: 1. Clemson; 2. Alabama; 3. Illinois; 4. Tennessee; 5. Wake Forest; 6. Colorado State; 7. Kent State; 8. Coastal Carolina; 9. Virginia; 10. Penn State; 11. Minnesota; 12. Virginia Commonwealth; 13. Columbia; 14. Sacred Heart.
Individuals: 1. Kevin O’Connell (North Carolina); 2. Dan Woltman (Wisconsin); 3. Robert Karlsson (Liberty); 4. Peter Williamson (Dartmouth); 5. Eric Hawerchak (Central Connecticut).
3. DALY CITY, CALIF.
Host: University of San Francisco.
Dates: May 14-16.
Site: Lake Merced Golf Club (par 72, 6,863 yards).
Teams: 1. Southern California; 2. Texas A&M; 3. Arizona State; 4. San Diego State; 5. California-Davis; 6. Oregon; 7. New Mexico; 8. Colorado; 9. California-Irvine; 10. Kansas State; 11. Oregon State; 12. San Diego; 13. San Francisco.
Individuals: 1. Grant Doverspike (Fresno State); 2. Brady Johnson (Brigham Young); 3. Nick Delio (Cal State Northridge); 4. Scott Smith (Nevada); 5. Geoff Gonzalez (Cal Poly); 6. Robbie Fillmore (Brigham Young); 7. Mark Hubbard (San Jose State); 8. Kevin Tucker (Washington State); 9. Bhavik Patel (Fresno State); 10. Greg Moss (Loyola Marymount).
4. SORRENTO, FLA.
Hosts: University of Central Florida and Central Florida Sports Commission.
Dates: May 14-16.
Site: RedTail Golf Club (par 72, 7,152 yards).
Teams: 1. Georgia; 2. Indiana; 3. South Carolina; 4. Central Florida; 5. Florida State; 6. Arizona; 7. Augusta State; 8. Kentucky; 9. Georgia Southern; 10. Georgia State; 11. Iowa; 12. Charlotte; 13. Campbell; 14. Loyola, Md.
Individuals: 1. Zach Sucher (UAB); 2. M. Etienne Bussierres (South Alabama); 3. Josh Brock (North Carolina-Wilmington); 4. Bill Jones III (Mercer); 5. Kelly McHugh (Florida Atlantic).
5. ALVATON, KY.
Host: Western Kentucky University.
Dates: May 14-16.
Site: The Club of Olde Stone (par 72, 7,324 yards).
Teams: 1. Washington; 2. Georgia Tech; 3. North Carolina State; 4. UCLA; 5. Mississippi; 6. East Tennessee State; 7. Duke; 8. Louisville; 9. Ohio State; 10. Vanderbilt; 11. Middle Tennessee State; 12. Austin Peay State; 13. Cleveland State; 14. Bucknell.
Individuals: 1. Mike Van Sickle (Marquette); 2. Sebastian MacLean (Xavier); 3. Trey Bowling (Eastern Kentucky); 4. Tyler Duncan (Purdue); 5. John Montgomery (Alabama State).
6. STILLWATER, OKLA.
Host: Oklahoma State University.
Dates: May 14-16.
Site: Karsten Creek Golf Club (par 72, 7,095 yards).
Teams: 1. Oklahoma State; 2. Arkansas; 3. Texas Christian; 4. Louisiana State; 5. Chattanooga; 6. Pepperdine; 7. Michigan State; 8. Baylor; 9. Northwestern; 10. Tulsa; 11. Denver; 12. Wichita State; 13. Oral Roberts.
Individuals: 1. Trent Peterson (South Dakota State); 2. Peter Malnati (Missouri); 3. Tom Whitney (Air Force); 4. Kelly Kraft (Southern Methodist); 5. Eric Onesi (Old Dominion); 6. Chris Ross (Eastern Michigan); 7. Roger Sloan (Texas-El Paso); 8. Nate Page (Southern Utah); 9. Devin Carrey (Louisiana-Lafayette); 10. James Kwon (Southern Methodist).