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Golfweek is once again partnering with Bushnell to bring you the men’s college golf coaches polls.
It was just three months ago that Florida knocked off Georgia Tech to win the NCAA Championship.
Now, believe it or not, college golf is back.
To help tee things up for the upcoming season, Golfweek is once again partnering with Bushnell to bring you the men’s college golf coaches polls.
This is the preseason poll as we set the table for 2023-24. The polls will be released once a month after that for all the divisions.
Here’s a look at the Golfweek’s 2023-24 preseason men’s college golf All-Americans.
The 2023-24 college golf season is upon us, which has our minds looking ahead to the postseason awards.
Sure, the summer just ended, but it’s never too early to look ahead.
Highlighting Golfweek’s 2023-24 preseason men’s college golf All-Americans is no other than Nick Dunlap, the sophomore at Alabama who lit the amateur golf scene on fire this summer with his numerous victories, none bigger than his triumph in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club outside of Denver. Dunlap earned second-team All-America honors last season, where he had one win at the Linger Longer Invitational and posted the second-lowest single-season stroke average in school history at 70.35.
Here’s a look at the Golfweek’s 2023-24 preseason men’s college golf All-Americans.
The transfer portal was busy this summer.
The transfer portal was busy this summer.
As is the case in every sport since the introduction of the transfer portal, college golf is no stranger to seeing players pack up from one school and head to the next for a change of scenery, playing opportunities and more.
Not only do some players still have an extra year of NCAA eligibility to use due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, but don’t forget the NCAA also passed a new rule in 2021 that allows players to transfer penalty-free one time in their collegiate career.
Here’s a look at some of the top transfers ahead of the 2023-24 college golf season.
“Ian is a special player and proven winner.”
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As a sophomore, Ian Gilligan put together one of the best seasons in Long Beach State history.
He had four victories, including in the Big West Championship, and nine top-10 finishes. He was named a Golfweek second-team All-American. He narrowly missed out qualifying as an individual for the 2023 NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, finishing T-9 at the Las Vegas Regional.
However, Gilligan, who finished 12th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings for 2023, is leaving the Golden State for the Sunshine State, as he’s transferring to the national champion Florida Gators where he will likely become one of the best players in the lineup with two years of eligibility remaining.
“Adding Ian Gilligan to our already talented roster is massive for us in continuing the momentum we created this spring,” Gators’ coach J.C. Deacon said in a release. “Ian is a special player and proven winner. He also has a unique ability to take it deep as he displayed shooting 61 in competition earlier this year. ”
Welcome to #GatorNation, Ian 🐊
🔶 2023 PING All-American
🔷 2023 Big West Golfer of the Year
🔶 2023 Big West Individual Champion
🔷 2022 Big West Freshman of the Year
🔶 Two-time All-Big West First Team#GoGators pic.twitter.com/RnZH0chnKs— Gators Golf (@GatorsGolf) June 16, 2023
That 61 came in the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, where Gilligan finished T-3.
It’s a big splash for the Gators, which lose individual national champion Fred Biondi as well as Ricky Castillo and Yuxin Lin. He will join John DuBois and Matthew Kress, both pivotal pieces in Florida’s title run, in the lineup.
Gilligan’s rise to one of the best college golfers in the country didn’t come without its challenges. When he was 15, he was one of 20 kids worldwide diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, one that forced him to spend months in the hospital.
He would spend a week receiving chemotherapy treatments before having two weeks at home. That process continued for seven months.
Now, he’s joining the defending national champions looking to help the Gators go back-to-back.
Who has the most men’s college golf national titles?
National champions have been crowned in men’s collegiate golf dating to 1897.
The Intercollegiate Golf Association, which was later re-named as the National Intercollegiate Golf Association, sponsored the season-end tournament from 1897-1938.
In that time frame, Yale dominated, earning 20 NIGA titles from 1897-1936, including nine consecutive from 1905-1913. The Bulldogs’ lone NCAA Championship came in 1943. Ivy League-rival Princeton has 11 NIGA titles of their own, dominating the 1920s. They as well have just one NCAA title (1940). Harvard also won six in seven years from 1898-1904, and Michigan won consecutive titles in 1934-35.
For the last 81 years, starting in 1939, the NCAA has assumed responsibility. Thirty schools have won NCAA titles, including 15 multi-time winners. That begs the question: Who has the most?
Check out the men’s All-Americans from the 2022-23 season.
The 2022-23 college golf season has concluded, with two weeks of NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
And it was a sweep for the Florida Gators. It started with Fred Biondi’s come-from-behind victory in the individual competition to capture the title, and then in the match play championship, the Gators also came from down late to defeat Georgia Tech and win the fifth title in school history and first in more than two decades.
Now that the dust has settled on the season, it’s time to hand out some individual awards. Here are Golfweek’s First Team, Second Team, Third Team and Honorable Mention All-Americans for the 2022-23 men’s college golf season.
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
More college golf: Women’s All-Americans
In 13 starts, James tallied 11 top-10 finishes.
Virginia’s Ben James has been named winner of the 2023 Phil Mickelson Award, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced Thursday.
James had an incredible campaign that ended Tuesday after guiding the Cavaliers into the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship match play quarterfinals. James finished sixth at 4-under 276 in the stroke play portion of the national championship. It was Virginia’s first time making match play at the NCAA Championship.
He won five times this year, including two of his first three starts, and shared medalist honors at the Las Vegas Regional.
In 13 starts, James tallied 11 top-10 finishes.
James also earned an automatic selection on next week’s Arnold Palmer Cup team, a Ryder Cup-style event that takes place June 8-10 at Laurel Valley Golf Club in Ligonier, Pennsylvania.
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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.
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“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 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.
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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.”
Improbable comeback complete.
Florida beats Florida State 3-2 after being down 2-0. Ricky Castillo with the winning putt on the 21st hole #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/vnu42a6bzP
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) May 31, 2023
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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)
