Tag: 2024 NCAA Championship

Golfweek’s 2024 All-NCAA Golf Championship match play teams

These players were the best in match play.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The NCAA Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships have passed, so it’s time to hand out some awards.

Omni La Costa’s North Course has crowned the Stanford women and Auburn men as the 2024 national champions. For the Cardinal, it’s the third national title in school history. As for the Tigers, it’s their first men’s golf title.

And there were certain players who stood out amongst the rest as dominant during the match-play portion. And it’s time to recognize them.

For the men and women, Golfweek is recognizing a 2024 All-NCAA Golf Championship match play team, featuring five players who were stellar during match play and an MVP of the bunch.

Men’s All-Match Play team

Luke Clanton, So., Florida State: Clanton was stellar for the Seminoles, and even with a 2-1 record, his importance can’t be overstated.

JM Butler, Sr., Auburn: The senior ended his career with the clinching point. He didn’t trail during match play the entire week.

Adam Wallin, Sr., Ohio State: Went 1-1, but took down Gordon Sargent and then took Haskins winner Jackson Koivun to 21 holes.

Tyler Weaver, Fr., Florida State: Weaver didn’t play a shot in stroke play but went 3-0 in match play.

MVP: Jackson Koivun, Fr., Auburn

The Haskins Award winner was clutch Tuesday night to send Auburn into the title match, then he backed it up with a 5-and-4 win in the championship to go 3-0 in match play.

Women’s All-Match Play team

Caroline Canales, Jr., UCLA: Went 3-0 in match play for the runner-up Bruins.

Megha Ganne, So., Stanford: Ganne went 2-0 for Stanford with her third match going unfinished.

Kiara Romero, Fr., Oregon: The stellar freshman went 2-0 for the Ducks, helping them advance to the semifinals.

Meghan Royal, So., UCLA: Royal went 2-1, helping the Bruins reach the championship match.

MVP: Kelly Xu, Stanford

Xu was stellar, going 3-0 for the Cardinal, including a semifinal win against Annika Award finalist Catherine Park from USC. This year, Xu went 6-1 in stroke play events this season, and her perfect record at Omni La Costa gave Stanford its second title in three years.

Auburn beats Florida State to win 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, first in school history

A national champion has been crowned.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — More often than not, when John Marshall Butler isn’t on the golf course, he’s at Jordan Hare Stadium.

The senior on the Auburn golf team occasionally goes to the 90,000-seat football stadium as the lone occupant, sprinting up and down the steps, touching every one. Auburn golf coach Nick Clinard could do nothing but watch and laugh, but it became a trend. How often did Butler do it?

“Too much,” Clinard said. “Just full of guts. I can’t teach that. He’s just a hard worker.”

Those guts are why Butler, a senior, has been in the anchor spot all season for the Tigers in match play. It’s why Clinard trusted him to close out matches when Auburn needed him most. And boy, did Butler come through.

NCAA: Photos from Omni La Costa

Butler beat Florida State sophomore Luke Clanton, the top-ranked golfer in the NCAA golf rankings, 2 and 1 on Wednesday to clinch the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship title match. Auburn won 3-2 against the Seminoles, clinching their first title in school history at Omni La Costa’s North Course. And it was the Tigers’ match-play assassin who came through in the clutch.

“The anchor match was nothing new,” Butler said on the 17th green minutes after clinching the match. “We went undefeated in match play all year and were just sticking to what we knew.”

Auburn earned its 10th victory of the season Wednesday, and Clinard triumphantly said his team became one of college golf’s best ever with the feat. The Tigers won the SEC Championship and their NCAA Regional, but the national championship is the crowning achievement.

Freshman Jackson Koivun, the Haskins winner who Tuesday was the hero to propel Auburn into the championship match, earned the first point with a 5-and-4 domination. Shortly after, points started to be clinched quickly. 

Junior Brendan Valdes earned a 4-and-3 victory, but Florida State responded when Cole Anderson won his match 1 up and Tyler Weaver, who didn’t play during stroke play all week, won his third match for Florida State.

NCAA: Which men’s teams have the most titles?

Then it came down to Butler and Clanton in the anchor match, and Butler led 1 up standing on the 15th tee.

“He’s the guy you want in that spot,” Clinard said. 

Clanton’s tee shot found the rough, and his approach went too long and trundled off the back of the green into the water. Butler stuck his shot on the front of the green and went 2 up with three to play.

His tee shot on the difficult par-3 16th landed on the green and creeped into the back bunker while Clanton found the putting surface. However, Butler didn’t flinch, nearly making his shot from the sand while Clanton’s birdie chance didn’t come close.

Then on the 17th, Butler hit his approach to 10 feet while Clanton’s approach came up short out of a fairway bunker. Clanton nearly chipped in for birdie to force a Butler make, but the ball hit the cup at full speed and hopped through. 

Butler comfortable hit his putt within tap-in range, and his teammates rushed him on the green.

“I don’t know how you can beat this,” Butler said. “I don’t even know what else to say.”

Butler never trailed all week in match play. He said the most nervous he was Wednesday was when he was tackled in the celebration.

During Butler’s first week of school, he and Clinard had a conversation. The ambitious freshman shared his goal: win a national championship. 

Mission accomplished.

“I knew right from the get-go that this program was due for a national championship,” Butler said, “and fortunately, we have the squad this year. And we got it done.”

Championship results

  • Cole Anderson (FSU) def. Carson Bacha (Auburn), 1 up
  • Tyler Weaver (FSU) def. Josiah Gilbert (Auburn), 2 and 1
  • Jackson Koivun (Auburn) def. Brett Roberts (FSU), 5 and 4
  • Brendan Valdes (Auburn) def. Frederik Kjettrup (FSU), 4 and 3
  • JM Butler (Auburn) def. Luke Clanton (FSU), 2 and 1

Haskins winner Jackson Koivun wins in extras, sends Auburn to national championship match against Florida State

Jackson Koivun proved he’s the best player in college golf.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Jackson Koivun is the best player in college golf. And he proved it late Tuesday evening.

The freshman at Auburn pumped both his fists as his birdie attempt dropped on the 21st hole of his match against Ohio State’s Adam Wallin. His Tiger teammates rushed him on the green. The blue and orange clad fans yelled in celebration.

Koivun was named winner of the Haskins Award winner earlier Tuesday, and his birdie putt helped send the top-ranked Tigers into the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship title match, where they will face Florida State on Wednesday. Neither school has won a national title in men’s golf, and arguably the two best players of the season, Koivun and Seminole Luke Clanton, will get a chance to lead their schools to glory.

However, on Tuesday night, the spotlight was on Koivun.

NCAA: Photos from Omni La Costa

“I’ve definitely thought about moments like this, but I don’t think I could prepare myself for that,” Koivun said. “The pressure I felt. Just so much on the line, our entire season leading up to that moment.”

Koivun led Wallin 2 up with two holes to play, but Wallin fought back to tie the match and force extra holes. The duo each made par on No. 16 and 17, though Koivun got a fortunate bounce off the TV tower on the 17th hole.

“I had 190. I hit 9-iron, and it flew past pin high,” Koivun said. “I didn’t plan for that.”

He took a drop and got up and in for par. Then on 18, Koivun’s second shot went into a greenside bunker while Wallin was short and left in the rough. Wallin’s third shot ended up going long, and he missed his birdie attempt. Koivun hit a beauty to 5 feet, and then he punctuated the match with the birdie to win.

Brendan Valdes and JM Butler also picked up wins for Auburn. Butler beat Neal Shipley, the low am at the 2024 Masters who beat Butler in the semifinals of the 2023 U.S. Amateur.

On the other side of the bracket, Clanton picked up a 2 and 1 victory against Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht, who was subbed into the lineup about 20 minutes before his afternoon tee time. The No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking hadn’t played since Friday’s opening round of stroke play because of back tightness, and he led 2 up with five holes to play before Clanton won four straight holes to clinch the match for the Seminoles.

“He’s the most positive golfer I’ve ever been around,” Florida State coach Trey Jones said. “I’ve been fortunate to be around some of the best golfers in the world, but Luke Clanton will find something positive about every shot, every situation. You can’t take him down. He’s just the guy you want in your corner at all times.”

Clanton, a finalist for the Haskins Award, beat Lamprecht 2 and 1. Tyler Weaver lost on the 18th hole but was able to get another Seminole point when he beat Kale Fontenot on the 19th hole. Then, Frederik Kjettrup earned the third point for Florida State.

Last year, the Seminoles fell against in-state rival Florida in the semifinals. Now they’re playing for the national title.

“We’ve played in a few match play events to help us prepare for this,” Jones said. “This is a true team. I just love then.”

The fifth-seeded Seminoles will have a tough task against Auburn and Koivun come Wednesday.

A fan went up to Koivun’s parents after he sunk the winning putt on the 18th green and told them thank you. They replied ‘for what?’

“For giving us Jackson.”

There’s more than a few people who are happy Koivun is an Auburn Tiger on Tuesday night.

Championship match

No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 6 Auburn

  • Cole Anderson vs. Carson Bacha (5:25 p.m. ET)
  • Tyler Weaver vs. Josiah Gilbert (5:35 p.m. ET)
  • Brett Roberts vs. Jackson Koivun (5:45 p.m. ET)
  • Frederik Kjettrup vs. Brendan Valdes (5:55 p.m. ET)
  • Luke Clanton vs. JM Butler (6:05 p.m. ET)

TV information

6-10 p.m. ET, Golf Channel

Upsets galore, all four lower seeds advance to NCAA Men’s Golf Championship semifinals

The semifinals are set.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — It was a quick turnaround for the eight teams who advanced into the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship match play.

Early Tuesday morning, teams returned to Omni La Costa’s North Course and began quarterfinal matches. Four ACC teams made match play, including a rematch of the ACC Championship. Then the top two teams from the country in the SEC faced off with a chance to play each other in the semifinals if they won.

Here’s a recap of Tuesday morning’s NCAA match play quarterfinals and a look ahead at Tuesday afternoon’s semifinal pairings. Every team that makes match play semifinals qualifies for the East Lake Cup in the fall.

NCAA: Best photos from Omni La Costa

Quarterfinal results

Georgia Tech 3, Illinois 1

The curse of the top overall seed? Only one No. 1 seed (Oklahoma State in 2018) has won stroke play and then won match play. Illinois, which won stroke play by 16 shots, is out after Tuesday morning’s 3-1 defeat. Aidan Tran, Christo Lamprecht’s replacement, won 3 and 2, and individual champion Hiroshi Tai clinched the match with a stellar approach into the par-3 16th green that resulted in a tap-in birdie.

Florida State 3, North Carolina 1

Florida State had lost in match play its last three chances against North Carolina, but not Tuesday morning. The Seminoles took down the ACC Champs 3-1 behind victories from Brett Roberts, Luke Clanton and Tyler Weaver, who was subbed in and played for the first time this week Tuesday morning.

Ohio State 3, Vanderbilt 1

Adam Wallin was two shots down sitting on the 17th tee to Gordon Sargent, the second-ranked golfer in the world. The senior at Ohio State won the next three holes, knocking off the second seed and No. 2 team in the country to help Ohio State advance to the semis. Neal Shipley and Jackson Chandler also picked up wins.

Auburn 3, Virginia 1

It came down to Jackson Koivun, and the best player in college golf this year delivered. The 2024 Haskins Award winner buried a birdie on the 18th hole to help the top-ranked (but sixth-seeded) Tigers top Virginia 3-1 to advance into the semifinals. Carson Bacha and Josiah Gilbert were the other Auburn players to get a point.

Semifinal matchups

No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech

  • Cole Anderson vs. Bartley Forrester (4:15 p.m. ET, 1st tee)
  • Tyler Weaver vs. Kale Fontenot (4:25 p.m. ET)
  • Luke Clanton vs. Christo Lamprecht (4:35 p.m. ET)
  • Gray Albright vs. Carson Kim (4:45 p.m. ET)
  • Frederik Kjettrup vs. Hiroshi Tai (4:55 p.m. ET)

No. 6 Auburn vs. No. 7 Ohio State

  • Carson Bacha vs. Maxwell Moldovan (5:05 p.m. ET, 1st tee)
  • Brendan Valdes vs. Jackson Chandler (5:15 p.m. ET)
  • Josiah Gilbert vs. Tyler Sabo (5:25 p.m. ET)
  • Jackson Koivun vs. Adam Wallin (5:35 p.m. ET)
  • JM Butler vs. Neal Shipley (5:45 p.m. ET)

Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai overcomes late triple bogey to win NCAA Men’s Golf individual title

He’s the fourth NCAA individual winner in Georgia Tech history.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The lie was impossible.

Georgia Tech sophomore Hiroshi Tai had one foot in and one foot out of the greenside bunker on the par-3 eighth. His ball caught a terrible lie. He had no shot.

He swung, caught a hozzle, shank, whatever you want call it. The ball was blasted over the green and past the TV tower. Two shots later, he was finally on the green. Two putts later, he was in the hole for a triple-bogey 6.

“I just told him, ‘dude, you just gotta go play the next hole,'” Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler said.

His tee shot on the par-4 ninth found a fairway bunker, then he chunked his second. “We haven’t hit a green from a fairway bunker all week,” Heppler joked. However, Tai then stuck his pitch shot from roughly 40 yards out and buried a 6 footer for par. It was a national championship winning putt.

Tai captured the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf individual title Monday at Omni La Costa’s North Course, overcoming a three-shot deficit and a string of late mistakes to beat numerous chasers, including 2022 individual champion Gordon Sargent and 2023 Phil Mickelson Award winner Ben James. With the win, Tai receives an exemption into the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 and the 2025 Masters, given he remains an amateur.

He will become the first Singaporean to play in the Masters.

“All of the guys on the team have really helped me a lot the past two-and-a-half years,” Tai said. “I’m just so thankful for all of the relationships I have been able to make.”

Tai is the fourth NCAA individual champion in Georgia Tech history, joining Watts Gunn (1927), Charlie Yates (1934) and Troy Matteson (2002).

He said he didn’t know where he stood on the leaderboard until he finished for the day. His triple on the eighth hole dropped the Yellow Jackets from 22 over to 25 over and out of the top eight cutoff for Tuesday’s match play. However, his clutch par save on the last helped Georgia Tech finish one shot in front of Oklahoma to earn the last spot in the quarterfinals. Tai finished at 3-under 285, and he also had the lowest round of the week, a 5-under 67 on Friday.

Last year, the Yellow Jackets finished runner-up to Florida in the national championship match. This year, they will face Illinois, which won the stroke-play portion by 16 shots to earn the top seed.

Tai was bogey free through 16 holes and had a two-shot lead when he stepped on the tee of the difficult eighth hole. At one point earlier in the day, scoring had him at 7 under for the tournament, but an error was later corrected bringing him to 6 under.

“I tried to tell him to not look at it because it doesn’t matter,” Heppler said. “Control what you can control, everything is right in front of you.”

Tai finished on the front nine, more than a mile from the clubhouse, while Sargent and James wrapped up their rounds on the 18th. The duo each had birdie looks on the closing par-5 hole to force a playoff, with James missing his putt low while Sargent lipped out his attempt.

“It was a good shot, obviously a touch too firm and too right,” Sargent said. “It almost snuck in right at the end. I thought it was in for a while.”

James and Sargent finished at 2 under in a tie for second along with four others, including Auburn freshman Jackson Koivun and Florida State junior Luke Clanton.

A reminder: James received a one-stroke penalty for slow play in the first round.

Tai’s win is fitting on Memorial Day, as before he started his college career, he served his mandatory two-year military service in Singapore, his home country.

He also was a huge part in the Yellow Jackets making match play, even down World No. 1 Christo Lamprecht, who hasn’t played since Friday because of a back injury. Come Tuesday, it’s a clean slate for Georgia Tech.

“It’s the greatest day in golf,” Heppler said. “The intensity of winning and losing starts on the first hole.”

Reigning Mickelson Award winner Ben James is lurking at NCAA Men’s Golf Championship

The race for the NCAA individual title is tight.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The results don’t show it, but Ben James believes he has played much better as a sophomore than he did as a freshman.

That’s hard to believe for James, let alone anyone comparing the seasons blindly next to each other. Last season, James won five times for Virginia and won the Phil Mickelson Award given to the Freshman of the Year. This year, he has no wins, only two top fives and six top-10 finishes.

“I’m actually playing a little bit better than last year,” James said Sunday after signing for a 3-under 69 in the third round of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course. “I’ve been really consistent. All around, my game feels a bit better.”

He has had to remain patient, but perhaps that’s finally starting to pay off. James sits T-2 and two shots back of the lead with 18 holes to play in the race for the individual title. What would be his first win of the season would be the biggest yet of his career.

“It’s like shooting 61 and then having to come back it up the next day,” Virginia coach Bowen Sargent said. “You’ve got to be able to manage expectations, and I do think he has gotten better. The parts have gotten better this year.”

The winner of the NCAA individual championship would earn exemptions into the 2024 U.S. Open in a couple of weeks at Pinehurst No. 2 and also would earn a spot at the 2025 Masters, given they accept the exemptions as amateurs. The lone player in front of James, Ohio State’s Adam Wallin, is a senior.

No pressure, right?

“Stuff just happens for a reason,” James said. “If it’s my day, it’s my day.”

Wallin also shot 3 under on Sunday and is two ahead of James. Vilips led by five entering the day but signed for 4-over 76 and is T-2 alongside James.

And James would be a shot closer if not for a pace-of-play penalty during Friday’s first round. However, his patience through that situation, and the season in general, are why James is clicking when it matters most.

“Being patient and letting things kind of come to you, that’s hard when you’re a great player because you’re used to taking the bull by the horns a little bit,” Sargent said, “but being patient is a big part of his game, and hopefully this week is his week.”

What’s it like replacing the top amateur in the world? Georgia Tech’s Aidan Tran found out Saturday

A whirlwind day for Georgia Tech.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Christo Lamprecht was in the final group to finish up Friday night after the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. The last hour was a grind, even with him signing for a 2-under 70 mark.

Lamprecht, the 6-foot-8 senior at Georgia Tech and top-ranked amateur in the world, had his back flare up. He fought and grinded to the clubhouse. Then he went straight to the training table.

“I didn’t sleep very good with that,” Yellow Jackets’ coach Bruce Heppler said.

Come Saturday morning, Lamprecht texted his coach that he wanted to give it a go, but his back was too injured. In came Aidan Tran, who didn’t know until about 80 minutes before his tee time he was in the lineup.

Aidan Tran of Georgia Tech golf at NCAA Championship, Round 2, May 25, 2024, Omni LaCosta Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, Calif. (Todd Drexler/Tim Cowie Photos)

Tran replaced Lamprecht in Georgia Tech’s lineup at the last minute Saturday, carding a 5-over 77 in the second round at Omni La Costa’s North Course. He had three birdies, including his last hole, and the only true blemish on his scorecard was a poor three-hole stretch on Nos. 12-14 that saw him card three straight double bogeys. Otherwise, considering the circumstances, it was a solid call to the bullpen.

“I was at breakfast with the guys and was just sitting there eating,” Tran said. “Coach pulled me aside and he’s like, ‘Did Christo tell you?’ ‘No, he didn’t tell me anything.'”

Tran had to get into a competitive mode real fast. He has traveled with the team to the ACC Championship and NCAA Regionals but didn’t play until Saturday. Georgia Tech’s drop score was 5 over, which Tran and first-round leader Hiroshi Tai both shot.

“This was definitely different for me,” Tran said.

He said there were some first-tee jitters, so he pulled an iron and ended up striping his tee shot down the fairway. He turned in even before the three straight doubles, then he birdied his final hole and signed for 77.

And Tran can go into tomorrow knowing he’s likely going to play. Heppler said “this is not good” in regards to Lamprecht’s back, which he attributes to stress and numerous factors, like fighting for the No. 1 spot in PGA Tour University and the pressure of being the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

“This is really sad,” Heppler said. “But it’s something that he’s gonna have to take care of. I think some of it is exacerbated by just the stress that he’s been under.”

Because of Lamprecht’s height, stress on his back is always going to be an issue. So while Heppler feels for his superstar, he also knows this will help him learn how to take care of his body into the future.

“This will be something, when there’s that much torque, that he’s got to pay attention to every day as long as he wants to play,” Heppler said.

World No. 1 amateur Christo Lamprecht subbed out at NCAA Men’s Golf Championship with injury

What a terrible break.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — Christo Lamprecht, a senior at Georgia Tech and the top-ranked amateur in the world, was subbed out of the Yellow Jackets’ lineup Saturday morning with a back injury.

Lamprecht, who opened with a 2-under 70 on Friday at Omni La Costa’s North Course, had back soreness and wasn’t able to work through it before his scheduled 9:14 a.m. PT tee time. Aidan Tran is taking Lamprecht’s place in the lineup.

In addition to Lamprecht’s pursuit of an individual title being over, his chances of earning a PGA Tour card are also done. He entered the week at No. 2 in the PGA Tour University rankings behind Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen, and with a win this week, he had a chance to earn the PGA Tour card given to the top finisher in the standings after the conclusion of stroke play.

However, now that Lamprecht has been subbed from the lineup, he will get last-place points for the event, giving Thorbjornsen the PGA Tour card. Last year, Ludvig Aberg earned the first card via PGA Tour U. At No. 2 in the PGA Tour U standings, Lamprecht will get full status on the Korn Ferry Tour, but the injury takes away a chance at guaranteed job status on the PGA Tour.

Lamprecht can return to Georgia Tech’s lineup on Sunday if his back loosens up, but he will be unable to compete for a stroke-play title. Last year, Lamprecht helped the Yellow Jackets advance to the match play final against Florida.

Photos: 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Omni La Costa

Check out the best photos from Omni La Costa throughout the week.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship is underway.

The best male college golfers in the country are on the Pacific Coast battling it out for the national championship. Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course is hosting the championships for the first time in what will be three straight years as the host.

The course has hosted both PGA Tour and LPGA events in the past, and now it’s time for the best amateurs to take on the course, recently renovated by Gil Hanse, that meanders through the Southern California canyons.

Here’s a look at the best photos from the 2024 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship:

West Virginia, Notre Dame relishing being back at NCAA Men’s Golf Championship after long postseason droughts

A couple of long postseason droughts ended this year.

CARLSBAD, Calif. — It has been nearly 10 years to the day since Sean Covich took over the head men’s golf coaching job at West Virginia. The position the program was in then compared to now couldn’t have been more polar opposites.

Covich was hired May 22, 2014, to be the Mountaineers’ head coach. West Virginia was reinstating its golf team, and Covich was tasked with growing the program from nothing.

“They handed me a sheet of paper and said, ‘You’re the golf coach,'” Covich said. “I didn’t have an office. Didn’t have any players. Nowhere to practice.”

West Virginia last competed in men’s golf in 1982. Covich took over, and the team began playing in the 2015-16 season. However, this year, the Mountaineers reached a new peak: making the NCAA Championship.

West Virginia made the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship this year for the first time in 77 years and only the second time in program history. In addition, Notre Dame also made NCAAs for the first time since 1966, breaking a drought older than the coach’s at each school.

The response for Covich and Notre Dame coach John Handrigan have been incredible.

“It’s been wild, like gosh, I didn’t even know this many people paid attention,” Covich said. “My phone blew up.”

West Virginia shot 22 over during a difficult morning wave of scoring Friday in the opening round, but Covich said the start was easier to process considering all of the family and friends who were walking the canyons of Carlsbad sporting Mountaineer colors.

After advancing through regionals, Covich said the alumni and donors showed incredible support, but it was the messages from his coaching fraternity that meant the most. Messages from national championship winning coaches, top-ranked teams and conference foes came in.

“Those are the kind of messages that really mean a ton to me,” Covich said.

Handrigan said he wasn’t aware of how long it had been since Notre Dame had made nationals. He said John Anthony, a former player, pulled parents aside after the Fighting Irish punched their ticket to Omni La Costa, and told them that the team hadn’t been to the national championship since most of them had been alive.

“I didn’t know that at the time,” Handrigan said. “That’s when I knew we did something special.”

The Fighting Irish sit at 8 over after the opening round, having the second-best performance of teams who teed off in the morning wave.

Handrigan said his team, which features two freshmen in the starting lineup, has embraced playing on the biggest stage.

Even he had a hard time keeping up with messages from alums, boosters and fans. Notre Dame athletic director Peter Bevacqua is the former CEO of the PGA of America, so there’s plenty of love for the golf team’s success back in South Bend.

“He’s at the lacrosse final four right now,” Handrigan said. “He told me he really wants to see us out here competing next week.

“I look forward to seeing him here.”