It’s a senior-heavy final match at the men’s NCAA Championship on Wednesday.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After 72 holes of stroke play, 20 quarterfinal and 10 semifinal matches, the field at the 2022 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship is down to just two.
Host Arizona State, the No. 7 seed, was the first team to punch its ticket to Wednesday’s final match at Grayhawk Golf club, defeating defending champion Pepperdine in a convincing 4-1 fashion. The Sun Devils will face No. 4 Texas, who defeated top-seed Vanderbilt, 3-1-1.
Arizona State was led by Mason Andersen, who defeated Dylan Menante in extra holes to put the first point on the board. Next was David Puig, who defeated Joey Vrzich, 2 and 1. After losing a 5-up lead on the back nine, Preston Summerhays put the decisive third point on the board just moments later, defeating Joe Highsmith, 2 up, with a pair of birdies on Nos. 17 and 18.
“Every match is so tough. These are great teams and our guys have played amazing,” said Arizona State head coach Matt Thurmond. “You see what Mason did both matches, what Preston did, (Cameron Sisk) was starting to take control of his match, and Puig, we rode Puig pretty hard at lunch. He’s hadn’t won a match for us yet and it was time. It was pretty cool that he won that big match in the middle.”
“Once you get to college, that’s basically all you work for. Obviously you have big tournaments throughout the season, but it all leads up to this,” Summerhays said of the spot his Sun Devils are in. “We’ve put ourselves in a position to where we can go out and win the whole thing, which is what we try to do every year. It’s a great opportunity that we have tomorrow.”
The Sun Devils are looking to win the third championship in program history after claiming victory in 1990 and 1996, while Texas is looking for No. 4 after previous wins in 1971, 1972 and 2012. Seniors Parker and Pierceson Coody and Cole Hammer were the core of the Longhorns lineup in 2019 when they lost to Stanford in the title match. The Texas trio will get another shot at glory in their final time rocking the burnt orange.
“Full circle from three years ago, that was a tough loss to Stanford but these guys have come a long way,” said Hammer. “We’ve been through a lot with Coody’s breaking their arms, really not having a set lineup and this postseason has been different. The guys have been so focused and we’ve all had our eyes on the prize, as cliché as it is, but it’s pretty fun to be a senior and have an opportunity like this tomorrow.”
Hammer earned the first point for the Longhorns and ran away to a 4-and-3 win over individual national champion Gordon Sargent with a dominant back nine performance. Pierceson Coody (3 and 2 over Cole Sherwood) and Travis Vick (4 and 3 over Reid Davenport) earned the next two points within seconds of each other to advance Texas to Wednesday’s final.
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 7 Arizona State
- 4:35 p.m. ET – Cole Hammer vs. Mason Andersen
- 4:45 p.m. ET – Parker Coody vs. James Leow
- 4:55 p.m. ET – Pierceson Coody vs. Preston Summerhays
- 5:05 p.m. ET – Mason Nome vs. David Puig
- 5:15 p.m. ET – Travis Vick vs. Cameron Sisk
Texas
Appearances: 7
NCAA Match Play Record: 9-5
Golfweek Rank: 6th
Three-time winner this season at the Big 12 Match Play, Augusta Haskins Award Invitational and Western Intercollegiate before finishing third at the Big 12 Championship and earning the last spot from the NCAA Norman Regional.
Arizona State
Appearances: 4
NCAA Match Play Record: 3-3
Golfweek Rank: 5th
Won three times at the Isleworth Collegiate, Southwestern Invitational and NCAA Stockton Regional with 11 total top-five finishes on the season.
How to watch
Golf Channel
Wednesday, June 1
- 5-9 p.m. Team Match Play National Championship (Live)
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