Tag: 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship

Ringler: Stroke play determines how you get the chance, match play has the final answer

Again, the No. 1 team and the No. 1 seed are absent from the championship winner’s circle.

Again, the No. 1 team and the No. 1 seed are absent from the championship winner’s circle.

Top-ranked Vanderbilt struggled to even advance to match play this week. No. 2 Illinois falls again match play. Stroke-play champions and third-ranked North Carolina continue a trend that has seen the top team in stroke play lose in bracket play 13 out of 14 years.

Instead, we have two teams that were amongst the best all season long, just not at the top.

Florida and Georgia Tech played for the title. Florida and Georgia Tech are very good college golf teams. Florida won, becoming the second team in a row ranked No. 6 to win the national championship. In this match play format, that is where you want to be.

No. 1 seeds and No. 1 teams rarely win.

In sports, we know the No. 1s and No. 2s do not always win the title.

Why does this happen in college golf?

The reason is very simple. Stroke play determines the rankings. Stroke play determines the seeds.

The Gators did finish tied for second after 72 holes of stroke play, earning the No. 2 seed. The Gators were ranked 6th by Golfweek entering match play.

However, stroke play does not determine the winner. Only how you get a chance to win. Match play is used, and that format brings teams closer together. Levels the playing field.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

It decreases the value of a dominant player. Instead of being several shots better, that top player can only be one point better in match play. And in 18 holes of golf, with players of NCAA Championship caliber, literally any player can beat the other any time out.

And sure, at times it can be more exciting. Not always. But, if you played a season full of dual matches, your rankings would look much different. They would look like match play rankings.

Again, this is to take nothing away from all the teams that have won a title since 2009, when the format changed. But, rather to try to figure out if there is a way to solve this formula on how they won.

Programs spend thousands of dollars to figure out how to get better. Like all sports, analytics are big in college golf. Whether it’s studying your swing numbers or breaking down the golf course. Or maybe it’s trying to figure out where to play and who to play. Being the best or second best or third best is hardly a guarantee to get a ring.

How to figure out the NCAA match play riddle? We have 14 years’ worth of data. The average national championship winning team is ranked 7.7. The seed average is 4.1.

Not sure if there is anything more than that. It may just be up to the golf gods or a bounce here or there on Tuesday or Wednesday.

No idea if there is an actual answer.

For Florida, the answer was ranked No. 12 after the fall, No. 7 entering the regionals, finish fourth at the NCAA Regional, finish tied for second after 72 holes of stroke play and then defeat Virginia (3-2), Florida State (3-2) and Georgia Tech (3-1).

That equals NCAA champions.

And with that path, it’s the first championship for the Gators since 2001, and the Grayhawk golf championship chapter closes. For three years the folks at Arizona State, Grayhawk, Thunderbirds and many volunteers were as good a host as we have ever seen. Certainly, big shoes for future hosts.

And continued searching for that winning formula for coaches.

‘I can’t even write this story’: Florida beats Georgia Tech, wins 2023 NCAA men’s golf national championship

It was the first time the Gators have made match play, and it’s their fifth title in school history.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — With chaos encircling him, Fred Biondi knelt near his bag.

His head was down, seeking to avoid the commotion occurring on the 18th green. His eyes turned red. Tears fell from his face. His hands grasped his hat.

It was all over.

Fred Biondi came to Florida and wasn’t a blue-chip prospect. He didn’t get consistent playing time until his junior year. On Wednesday, his college career came to an end, and he’s one of the most successful Gators in program history. 

Biondi earned the final point in Florida’s 3-1 victory against Georgia Tech at Grayhawk Golf Club in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship match play final. He lagged a putt from 25 feet to within tap-in range, and his opponent, Hiroshi Tai, conceded the hole. Biondi won his match 1 up, and the Gators were national champions again for the first time in more than two decades.

“I promised (coach) J.C. (Deacon) when I first got to school that I would work as hard as I could and try to bring him a ring or two,” Biondi said, “and we did it.” 

NCAA: Photos

The title is Florida’s fifth and the first since 2001. Biondi also won the 2023 individual title on Monday, winning by one shot. 

The Gators’ path to a title wasn’t easy. They had to fight in the final round of regionals just to make it to Grayhawk Golf Club, finishing as the fourth seed in the Bath Regional. Then on Tuesday in the match play semifinals, Florida trailed 2-0 against in-state rival Florida State and was down in multiple matches before a late rally, including when senior Ricky Castillo flipped his match and was the clinching point to propel Florida into Wednesday’s championship match.

And the team effort continued against Georgia Tech. Senior Yuxin Lin closed his match out early, winning 4 and 3 after a Christo Lamprecht three-putt on the par-4 15th, but the remainder of the matches went late into the windy Arizona evening, including one match going 20 holes.

In the remaining four, Georgia Tech led in three of them and was tied in the other coming down the stretch. Yet the Gators never faltered.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

“My dad’s probably the most optimistic person in the world,” Deacon said. “And I got that from him. I always believe we can do it until they tell me we lost the match. We had a chance, and we just had to stay in the moment. 

“I can’t even write this story.”

Even as Georgia Tech looked to close in for a win, the Gators chomped back. 

Matthew Kress was 2 down with two to play and was able to get the match to extra holes, eventually falling to Bartley Forrester after 20 holes. John Dubois was 1 down after 14 holes but won two of his last four, including on the 18th, to win 1 up.

Then there was Biondi, who won the 17th hole with a birdie and then held on come the 18th. Even Castillo, who was one down after 15, won back-to-back holes and was 1 up in the 18th fairway when Florida clinched the match. 

“It’s so awesome that we did this together,” Biondi said. “It’s not just one of us. It’s their championship.”

Georgia Tech now has five runner-up finishes at the NCAA Championship but its first in match play. Deacon went out of his way after the match to praise Yellow Jacket coach Bruce Heppler, who he called a bonafide Hall-of-Famer. 

However, it’s the Gators who are taking home the trophy in the final year of the championships at Grayhawk Golf Club. And for Deacon, in his ninth season as head coach, he has Florida back on top.

“The best part of the job is when I got here, you find out how special Florida is,” Deacon said. “It was actually a lot of pressure. They were big expectations to handle, but those just drive you to work really hard. This is definitely all those alumni who built this program and made it what it is today.”

Florida mounts improbable comeback, will face Georgia Tech in NCAA Men’s Golf Championship match play final

Florida pulled off an improbable comeback for the win.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — J.C. Deacon is likely still speechless.

He walked off the 10th green at Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course searching to find words. He couldn’t describe what had unfolded in the past hour during his Florida Gators semifinal match against rival Florida State. He thought his team was going home. Instead, it’s playing for a national title.

The Gators pulled off an improbable comeback, rallying from 2-0 to beat the Seminoles 3-2 and advance to Wednesday’s match play final, where the second-seeded Gators will battle No. 5 Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets beat top-seed North Carolina 3-2 to advance.

NCAA: Photos

Florida’s Ricky Castillo earned the clinching point by beating Florida State’s Brett Roberts on the 21st hole, and that happened after Castillo was 2 down with three to play.

“Ricky is in the bunker on 16, and all I’m thinking is how are we going to win this,” Deacon said. “All due respect to Brett Roberts. He’s an incredible player. But when the match got to all square and it’s Ricky Castillo, he’s winning that. This is what he does.”

Castillo got up-and-down from the bunker on 16 for par, and Roberts made bogey. Then Castillo drove the green on the par-4 17th and made birdie, getting the match to all square.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

After halving the 18th, they went to No. 10. Then to 18 again and back to No. 10, where Roberts missed a birdie putt. Castillo then made his and clinched the Gators’ spot in the match play final.

“I’m still in shock,” Castillo said. “I’m just really excited that I was able to get us in the final tomorrow.”

Fred Biondi, who won medalist honors Monday, beat Cole Anderson 1 up, and John DuBois added a 1-up victory to clinch it for Florida. Frederik Kjettrup and Jack Bigham clinched the two points for the Seminoles.

Meanwhile, in the second semifinal, North Carolina’s Dylan Menante made quick work of Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht, winning 6 and 5. However, at the time Menante closed the match, Georgia Tech led in the other four.

Bartley Forrester then beat Ryan Burnett, 4 and 2, with Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler saying Forrester couldn’t have played better Tuesday. Connor Howe beat Austin Greaser by the same score, giving the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead.

However, North Carolina’s David Ford won his match on the 18th green, making it 2-2 and leaving it up to Georgia Tech’s Ross Steelman and the Tar Heels’ Peter Fountain.

Steelman led after the first three rounds of stroke play but bogeyed his final three holes Monday to lose by one stroke. Down the stretch Tuesday, Steelman was electric.

“He’s a beast,” Heppler said. “You couldn’t put a better guy back there if you had to.”

Steelman hit long putts on 16 and 17 to remain 1 up in his match. Off the 18th tee, he blasted a drive way down the fairway while Fountain found a bunker and had to lay up. Steelman hit the green with his second and comfortably two-putted to send Georgia Tech to the championship match. It was his second victory of the day, and match play is something Steelman enjoys.

“I like that you know what you need to do and when you need to do it,” Steelman said. “Just kept in mind all the good golf I’ve played and not the final three holes yesterday. Just have fun with it.”

Top-seed trend continues

Another trend that continued is the top-seeded team didn’t make the final, losing in the semis for the fourth straight year. Only Oklahoma State (2018) has won stroke play portion and gone on to win the national title.

“I’m just really happy in the fight our guys showed,” UNC coach Andrew DiBitetto said. “They battled all day.”

Florida will seek its fifth national title and first since 2001. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has never won a title but has finished runner-up four times, all in the stroke-play era. It’s the first time the Yellow Jackets and Gators have made a match play final.

Championship match

No. 2 Florida vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech

Yuxin Lin vs. Christo Lamprecht (4:35 p.m. ET)

Matthew Kress vs. Bartley Forrester (4:45 p.m. ET)

John DuBois vs. Connor Howe (4:55 p.m. ET)

Fred Biondi vs. Hiroshi Tai (5:05 p.m. ET)

Ricky Castillo vs. Ross Steelman (5:15 p.m. ET)

Editor’s note: Scottsdale is PT, three hours behind ET.

Georgia Tech wins in extra holes, North Carolina knocks off hosts and Yuxin Lin’s back-nine push sends Florida into NCAA Men’s Golf Championship semifinals

Here’s a breakdown of Tuesday morning’s action.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — It was a quick turnaround for the eight teams who advanced into the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship match play.

Come early Tuesday morning, they returned to Grayhawk Golf Club and began quarterfinal matches. And the headline was four Atlantic Coast Conference teams making match play, with North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Virginia trying to battle for conference supremacy. And all of them were in different matches.

However, there was no shortage of excitement Tuesday morning, with numerous matches coming down to the wire.

NCAA: Photos

Here’s a look at recaps of the quarterfinals as well as semifinal matchups.

Quarterfinal results

Florida 3, Virginia 2

NCAA individual champion Fred Biondi’s match was the first to end, with him falling to Bryan Lee, 6 and 5. However, it was Yuxin Lin winning the final two holes to clinch the match for Florida and propel the Gators into the semifinals. Lin was 3 down after 11 holes but won three of the next five to clinch the match.

Florida State 3, Illinois 2

Speaking of ACC teams, Florida State, the sixth seed, knocked off No. 3 Illinois, 3-2, with freshman Luke Clanton beating individual runner-up Jackson Buchanan 1 up for the clinching point. Fellow freshman Cole Anderson also won his match, 1 up, winning the final hole to clinch another point. Seniors Tommy Kuhl and Adrien Dumont de Chassart earned the two points for Illinois.

North Carolina 4, Arizona State 1

Michael Mjaaseth needed one more roll. His ball came to rest less than an inch short of the cup on the par-4 18th hole, him needed a birdie to try to extend the match against North Carolina. However, Arizona State fell short against the top-seeded Tar Heels, losing 4-1 as David Ford beat Mjaaseth to get the clinching point. He drove the par-4 17th green and made birdie to go 1 up, which proved enough to move on.

Georgia Tech 3, Pepperdine 2

Hiroshi Tai, a freshman from Singapore, buried a birdie putt on the 19th hole to win his match against Roberto Nieves and send Georgia Tech into the semifinals to face ACC foe North Carolina. Ross Steelman, who held the 18-, 36- and 54-hole leads in stroke play, dominated to a 5-and-4 victory, and Bartley Forrester got the other point, winning 2 and 1.

Semifinal matchups

No. 2 Florida vs. No. 6 Florida State

Matthew Kress vs. Frederik Kjettrup (3:45 p.m. ET, 1st tee)

Fred Biondi vs. Cole Anderson (3:55 p.m. ET, 1st tee)

John DuBois vs. Luke Clanton (4:05 p.m. ET, 1st tee)

Yuxin Lin vs. Jack Bigham (4:15 p.m. ET, 1st tee)

Ricky Castillo vs. Brett Roberts (4:25 p.m ET, 1st tee)

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech

Dylan Menante vs. Christo Lamprecht (4:35 p.m. ET, 1st tee)

Ryan Burnett vs. Bartley Forrester (4:45 p.m. ET, 1st tee)

Austin Greaser vs. Connor Howe (4:55 p.m. ET, 1st tee)

David Ford vs. Hiroshi Tai (5:05 p.m. ET, 1st tee)

Peter Fountain vs. Ross Steelman (5:15 p.m. ET, 1st tee)

NCAA Championship: Match play field, pairings set for 2023 men’s quarterfinals

Check out the eight teams who made the match play at the NCAAs.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The men’s individual national champion has been crowned, which means one thing: it’s time for match play.

North Carolina is the top seed in match play, finishing at 6 under. The Tar Heels will face Arizona State, which topped Stanford on the second playoff hole for the final match play spot. The Sun Devils made the match play final last year, falling to Texas.

The top-seeded team has won the title only once (Oklahoma State, 2018).

The quarterfinals are set to begin on Tuesday morning and the semifinals to follow in the afternoon. On Wednesday, and the final. (Note: all times ET, which is three hours ahead of Scottsdale).

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
NCAA Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Photos

[pickup_prop id=”33672″]

Here’s a look at the quarterfinal matchups and pairings at the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship.

Comeback kid: Florida’s Fred Biondi erases 5-shot deficit to capture 2023 NCAA individual title

Fred Biondi started the day five shots behind. In the end, he was a national champion.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Fred Biondi hoped he would have a decision to make Monday afternoon. One that would have major implications for his future.

Would he turn professional, which had been his plan all along, or would he remain an amateur for nearly another year.

The caveat? A Masters invitation on the line that would require him to stay an amateur until the 2024 event.

Well, Biondi now has that decision to make.

The senior at Florida came from five shots behind in the final round of stroke play Monday at the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship to win the individual title. Biondi shot 3-under 67 at Grayhawk Golf Club’s Raptor Course, surpassing Georgia Tech senior Ross Steelman late after the latter bogeyed his final three holes in a closing 3-over 73.

“This could not happen to a better young man than Fred Biondi,” Florida coach J.C. Deacon said. “He’s amazing. It makes me so emotional just talking about it.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

Biondi is the third Florida Gator to win the NCAA individual title, the last being Nick Gilliam in 2001. He had six birdies, a bogey and a double bogey in the final round. And now, he has an exemption into the 2024 Masters and the 2023 U.S. Open, if he decides to remain an amateur.

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
NCAA Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Photos

Deacon referenced a conversation he had with Biondi on Sunday when the team was leaving the golf course. Deacon thought Biondi would need to shoot 65 or 66 to have a chance at the individual title.

“He goes, ‘No, I don’t think so coach. I think 67 gets it done,'” Deacon said. “And that putt he made (at the end) was for 67.”

Biondi said he was looking at leaderboards a bit throughout the day, the first time on the sixth hole when he made a birdie putt to get one back of Steelman. He proceeded to double bogey the seventh hole, but that didn’t dampen his spirits.

“It could have (ruined my round), but I was playing so good and and enjoying myself out there,” Biondi said. “I tried to play with no emotions, keep my head down and just focus on the next shot.”

There was a big delay on the 17th and 18th tees due to the 17th hole having its tee box moved up, making the green driveable at 328 yards. However, Biondi’s decision on what to do wasn’t made by him.

Steelman, who led after each of the first three rounds, reached the 16th hole at even par, but a three-putt bogey dropped him to 8 under. Then, his approach at the par-4 17th rolled off the front of the green, and he was unable to get up-and-down for par.

On 18, Steelman blasted a drive down the middle but was unable to find the green with his approach, and he again couldn’t get in for par from the right rough.

The bogey on 17 tied Biondi at the top, then he took the lead when Steelman bogeyed 18. He pulled an iron and laid up, giving himself an opportunity for birdie.

“I knew I had to play the last couple in even par,” Biondi said. “It was still a hard task. I just tried to soak it all in and put good swings on them.”

Jackson Buchanan of Illinois had a chance to get to 7 under and force a playoff in the group ahead of Biondi, but his birdie putt on 18 missed to the right.

Biondi missed a birdie on the 17th but cleaned up for par. On 18, his tee shot found the middle of the fairway, and the approach ran through to the back of the green. He hit his birdie putt to about 4 feet, then his teammates rushed him in celebration when he knocked in the par.

Steelman was on the practice putting green across the pond from 18, staying warm in case of a playoff. When Biondi won, Steelman rushed over and congratulated him at the scoring tent.

Buchanan and Steelman tied for second at 6 under. The 2022 individual champ, Gordon Sargent of Vanderbilt, finished tied for 40th.

“It feels great, it feels amazing for sure,” Biondi said. “I’m sure I’ll soak it in a little bit more, but we’ve got to get ready for tomorrow.”

Biondi, Gators earn second seed

The Gators will be the second seed in match play and will face Virginia on Tuesday morning. North Carolina is the top seed and will face Arizona State, which beat Stanford on the second playoff hole for the eighth and final spot. The Gators won the SEC Championship in match play last month, beating top-ranked Vanderbilt in the final.

With Biondi’s win, Florida is full of confidence.

And his Masters decision will have to wait a bit. He’s got a team national championship to play for.

“We’ve had some reps with how difficult it is to win these matches,” Deacon said. “Our guys will be excited to play.”

With Masters exemption on the line, a win means even more at 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship

“It’s definitely something to factor, and it’s just an unbelievable opportunity.”

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 a tie fir 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.”

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
NCAA Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Photos

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-4. “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.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

“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.”

Meet the 15 teams to make the first cut at the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship

Illinois paces the field with 18 holes of stroke play remaining.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After 54 holes of stroke play, the field of 30 teams at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship is now 15 after Sunday evening’s cut and a Monday morning playoff.

Illinois is out in front after a second straight under-par round, sitting at 6 under. Pepperdine, after its Grayhawk record-breaking Sunday, moved into second and is three shots back.

Then there’s Florida, North Carolina and Georgia Tech all within three shots of one another before a big drop off to Stanford, which had the second-lowest round Sunday, in sixth.

By Monday evening, the top eight teams remaining after the final round of stroke play will make match play, which begins Tuesday morning.

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
NCAA Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Photos

[pickup_prop id=”33672″]

Meet the teams who made the first cut at Grayhawk.

Ringler: Atlantic Coast Conference looking to change the tide at 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship

While there is some buzz around the ACC here at Grayhawk Golf Club this week, it hasn’t always been like that.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — At the conclusion of NCAA regional play, a group text amongst the ACC coaches started up with “congratulations” and “let’s go” talk. Five teams – North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Virginia and Duke – all punched their tickets to Grayhawk for the finals.

That league pride may not result in any text messages floating around here after 54 holes at Grayhawk. Those eight spots that advance to match play are too coveted for even your best friend.

“Those are the people we are in meetings with. We cheer for them and have complete respect for them, and we know them very well,” Florida State coach Trey Jones said.

While there is some buzz around the ACC here at Grayhawk Golf Club this week, it hasn’t always been like that.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

ACC teams have not seen much success in the NCAA match play format. Five teams have had a shot at bracket play: Georgia Tech, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina and Wake Forest. Those five have combined for 11 appearances in match play since the switch to head-to-head play in 2009.

Georgia Tech leads the way with four appearances, and the combined ACC won-loss record is 4-11 with Duke’s 2-2 mark being the best.

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
NCAA Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Photos

No ACC team has even made it to the final match. That may change this year.

“Florida State is way better than people think, and obviously North Carolina has had a three-year run at this, and Bowen is doing a great job at Virginia,” Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler said. “It’s a really good league.”

Jones added: “We know that Chapel Hill is ultra talented, Georgia Tech has a talented team and Virginia has just gotten better and better, and Duke is here.”

Is there a reason that the ACC may finally breakthrough in this format?

Three years ago, a format change at the conference championship may have had something to do with it. Depending on who you ask, the answer will be a little different. The change was made to play the normal 54 holes of stroke play with the addition of a cut to four teams to play match play.

“I don’t know if it has made us as a conference better,” Virginia coach Bowen Sargent said. “It probably prepares us better mentally.”

That preparation comes from having to stare down the cut line that teams see in the postseason.

“You face the cut line at regionals and two cut lines here,” Heppler said. “For me, how do you make the conference feel like that? It was not about going to match play, it was about making that conference championship feel this as far as stroke play goes. Create the feeling of a cut at the regional and two cuts here more than anything.”

North Carolina sits in fourth place after three rounds and is the top ACC team by one shot over Georgia Tech. Florida State and Virginia also have a top-eight finish within grasp.

For the Tar Heels, they did not experience the good side of the cut at the conference championship, but maybe that helped here in the postseason.

“You feel a little bit of juice now at ACC Championship and if it goes your way you build some confidence, and if it does not go your way you come home and have some conversations,” North Carolina coach Andrew Dibitetto said. “It did not go our way at ACCs.”

North Carolina finished T-6 and missed match play at the ACC.

“From my perspective when we changed that format it was to help our teams prepare for the postseason. Now three years in I think there is some benefit to it,” Dibitetto said.

The ACC has not won a national championship since Clemson did so in 2003. Prior to that, only Wake Forest has won an NCAA title – the Deacons have won three (1974, 1975 and 1986).

There is a good chance that could change over the next few days at Grayhawk.

How a pebble helped spark Luke Gifford, Pepperdine to Grayhawk record-setting third round in 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship

Pesky pebbles.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Luke Gifford thought his ball was going to sail past the hole.

A grad student at Pepperdine, Gifford had come to the par-4 15th hole off two straight birdies, including an uphill 30-footer on the 14th. His approach shot sailed right on the 15th, the pin left and tucked behind a menacing bunker, but he was just trying to lag a putt up close to the hole from 60 feet away and get out with a par.

He hit it, and Gifford instantly knew he put too much on it.

“I haven’t made a putt all week, have really struggled,” he said. “And that one was going to go a few feet by.”

That was, until his ball met a pebble.

There’s millions of pebbles scattered throughout Grayhawk Golf Club, site of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. It’s a desert course, so it’s no surprise when players or spectators have to empty their shoes after a round. But on the green?

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=]

Gifford’s ball hit the pebble about 10 feet away from the hole. It jumped up, killed the speed and went a bit to the right. It also went in the hole for his third straight birdie.

“This pebble is coming with me the rest of the tournament,” Gifford said with a smile. “It’s such a joke how it went in.”

The pebble that Luke Gifford’s ball hit on the 15th green. (Photo: Cameron Jourdan/Golfweek)

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
NCAA Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Photos

Gifford’s third straight birdie was the highlight of his round and a huge one for the Waves, which shot 11-under 269 on Sunday in the third round, setting a new record at Grayhawk for lowest round in an NCAA Championship. Pepperdine set the old record in 2021 with a 9-under 271 in the final round.

Gifford signed for a 3-under 67, his best round of the week. Derek Hitchner carded a 5-under 65. Sam Choi also shot 3 under, and William Mouw was at even-par.

Pepperdine, which won the championship in 2021 at Grayhawk and made the match play semifinals in 2022, moved up to second at 3 under and three strokes behind Illinois. More importantly, the Waves are well inside the 15-team cut and are in great position to make match play yet again.

“Guys played solid all the way around,” Pepperdine coach Michael Beard said. “We’ve got a great group of guys. Our youngest player is 22 that’s in our starting five right now. And with that comes experience.”

Only Hitchner and Mouw remain in the starting lineup from Pepperdine’s semifinalist team last year, but as Beard mentioned, there’s plenty of experience in the lineup.

He couldn’t quite put his finger on why his teams have been successful at Grayhawk. But the Waves have yet again put themselves in position to make match play, and a small pebble played a big part.

“It’s a combination of knowing this place and doing the prep work to make sure we can be successful,” Beard said.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=1362]