SCOTTSDALE (Ariz.) — Playing this championship in The Grand Canyon State tends to make it feel like Groundhog Day. Everything is predictable. Leaderboard is the only thing that changes.
The NCAA Championship is now in its third year at Grayhawk Golf Club. What have we learned so far?
* The Raptor Course continues to be a tough test. We don’t see many low scores. Arizona State (3 under par) in 2021 was the only team to have finished 72 holes in red in the two previous finals. The trend is still the same, with only Illinois below-par at this point.
Florida has participated in 11 of 14 championships since the NCAA format changed to match play. The Gators are yet to participate in match play. Florida sits in a good position at the halfway point of the tournament, just three shots behind Illinois.
The Illinois delegation arrived at Scottsdale this week with a ranking of No. Golfweek/Sagarin ranked Illinois No. 2 and Golfstat ranked it No. 3. Golfstat ranked the Illini No. 3. The Illini lost only eight games all year, twice each to Florida, Stanford and Auburn. They also lost to Arizona State, Pepperdine University, Arizona State, Georgia, Arizona State, Arizona State, Arizona State, Arizona State, Georgia State, Arizona State, Georgia State, Arizona State, Georgia State, Arizona State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Arizona State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State, Georgia State They are unbeaten through 36 holes.
Illinois had the second best round at Grayhawk in the last 10 rounds with a score of 7-under 273. Only Pepperdine, with a final-round 271 two years ago, had a lower score.
Men’s individual
NCAA Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Photos
Georgia Tech is perhaps the most legendary program in college-level golf that has never won an NCAA championship. Georgia Tech has finished second four times. Bruce Heppler is one of the most successful coaches without a championship. He holds three of these trophies. Heppler has won the title 20 times in 25 years since he started coaching at Tech, in the 1995-96 season. Georgia Tech has only made four match play appearances, and they have gone 1-4. Heppler could finally win the title he has been chasing for years now. Senior Ross Steelman holds a three-shot advantage in the individual rankings.
* The Big 12 Conference may not have a team that makes the 54-hole cut. This conference has at times been arguably the best in golf conferences in the last few years. Oklahoma, Texas Tech, and Baylor all fall outside of the number needed to make the 54-hole cut. Since the start of match play we’ve always had a Big 12 squad in bracket play. And since 2016, every year a Big 12 has made it to the match play final. This streak could be in jeopardy.
Oklahoma has had the longest winning streak in match play. The Sooners are a regular in the match play for the past six years. They have gone 5-5 over that time. If the Sooners want to continue their streak, they will need to work hard.
Virginia, quietly but surely, has become a team with a lot at stake in the next two rounds. Bowen Sargent’s team, led by Ben James, a candidate for freshman of the year, sits in T-7. The Cavaliers are yet to advance in match play.
This year, the.500 Rule was a big issue. Georgia and Arkansas are two of the teams who barely made it to the cut. Both teams are in the middle after 36 holes and still have a chance to make it through the 54-hole cut.
Pepperdine is poised to make match play again this week. Sam Choi and Luke Gifford are the three new players in their lineup. The only two members of the team that reached the Final FORE last year are William Mouw, and Derek Hitchner.
