2nd June 2021

Pepperdine University beat Oklahoma University 3-2 at the Greyhawk Golf Club in Arizona to win the 2021 NCAA Division I National title.

It was the second time in their history that the Malibu, California based team had lifted the National Championship trophy. They previously won in 1997.

Pepperdine Team and Coaches (Photo: Pepperdine Men’s Golf Team)

Every player on the Pepperdine team delivered at least one win and one half during the match play stage. However, the stars for the Waves were Clay FEAGLER, a fifth year senior, and junior Joe HIGHSMITH who both won all three of their games.

The team line up also included sophomore Dylan MENANTE, sophomore William MOUW and senior Joey VRZICH.

Championship Results (Graphic: Golfstat)

Pepperdine had earlier finished 3rd in the stroke play stage of the competition with Oklahoma coming in 4th.

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1st June 2021 PM

The afternoon semi-finals saw two minor upsets with Pepperdine and Oklahoma battling through to the Final.

Semi-Final Results (Graphic: Golfstat)

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1st June 2021 AM

In line with the stroke play seedings Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Arizona State and Oklahoma all came through their Quarter Final matches without too much trouble.

Quarter Final Results (Graphic: Golfstat)

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31st May 2021

With rounds of 68, 67, 68 and 70 (-7) Turk PETTIT of Clemson University won the NCAA Division I Individual Championship.

He finished 1 shot ahead of Bo JIN who was representing Oklahoma State with Ryggs JOHNSTON from Arizona State a further shot back.

Turk Pettit (Photo: NCAA)

Alex FITZPATRICK was GB&I’s highest finisher. A final round 76 saw him have to settle for a +9 total and a tied 39th finish.

After a poor opening round of 78 John MURPHY settled well. His final +11 total was good enough for a tied 52nd.

Here are the leading Individual scores: –

Leading Individual Results (Graphic: Golfstat)

In the Team competition Georgia Tech (+1) beat TCU (+4) in the 54-hole team play-off to start the day off.

From a GB&I perspective it was a disappointing day as both Louisville and Wake Forest missed out on the match play stage, thus ending our interest in the Championship.

Wake Forest had a disastrous final day recording a +23 score which saw them tumble down the rankings.

Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Oklahoma, Illinois, Florida State, Vanderbilt and North Carolina were the eight teams to advance to the match play stage.

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30th May 2021

The 54 hole first cut saw the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on those teams progress to the final 18 holes of stroke-play.

Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) and Mark POWER (IRL) helped their Wake Forest team through to the next stage in tied 6th place on +13. In the individual standings Alex +3 is tied 22nd and Mark +8 tied 56th.

Louisville proved to be one of the surprise packages finishing the first stage of the Championship in 12th place on +24. John MURPHY (IRL) +9 is tied 67th. After an opening round 78 Max KENNEDY (IRL) was dropped with Dev MORLEY (IRL) coming in to replace him. Dev posted a counting 74 in round 2 and a 76 in round 3.

Georgia Tech and TCU will play-off [5-from-5 scores to count playing holes 14-18 concurrently] to determine the final team progressing to round 4.

The final round of stroke play will be played on Monday 31st to establish the eight teams that will progress to match play as well as the Individual champion.

To date play has proven much easier in the morning with the course firming up as the temperatures reach the high 90’s in the afternoon.

Here are the 54 hole Team results: –

Team Scores (Graphic: Golfstat)

Day 3 was as far as it went for the following GB&I players and their teams.

Rhys NEVIN-WHARTON +11 finished T90 as his Tennessee team missed out on a play-off for the final stroke-play day by just 1-shot.

Joe PAGDIN +15 finished tied 115th with his Florida team coming in 22nd.

Toby BRIGGS +15 also finished tied 115th as his San Francisco team finished in 29th place.

Archie DAVIES +18 finished tied 130th with East Tennessee State ending their Championship in 28th place. Despite his team under performing Head Coach Jake Amos chose not to play Ben CARBERRY in any of the rounds.

Callum BRUCE +21 finished tied 139th as San Diego State failed to progress in tied 25th place.

University of Texas were the highest ranked team to crash out after the first stage. They were not helped when one of their star men Pierceson Coody became ill after his first round and was unable to play on the subsequent two days.

Bo JIN -9 from Oklahoma State leads Turk PETTIT -7 of Clemson in the Individual competition.

Here are the leading 54-hole Individual Scores: –

Leading Individual Scores (Graphic: Golfstat)

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24th May 2021

The 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s National Championship starts on Friday 28th May at Greyhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona with Arizona State University hosting this year’s competition.

Greyhawk has just finished hosting the Women’s NCAA Division I Championship. The set up proved to be demanding with few players finishing under par.

30 5-man teams and 6 individuals not on those teams qualified to play through six Regional events played on 17th – 19th May. To learn more about these please read my earlier article – NCAA Division I Men’s Regionals – 2021 Preview & Results

Stanford, the last champions in 2019, failed to progress through their Regional event at Albuquerque. They were not helped when two of their leading players, Barclay Brown (ENG) and Henry Shrimp (USA), failed COVID-19 tests on the eve of the competition and were forced to withdrawal from the Cardinals line-up.

At the National Championship 54 holes of stroke play will be played on 28-30 May. A cut will then take place which will see the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on those teams play a final 18 holes on 31 May. After 72 holes an Individual champion is crowned with the leading 8 teams progressing to a match play stage. Seeded match play will then take place on 1-2 June and will be used determine the Team national champions.

Team scores in the stroke play stage are based on a best four from five players cumulative total.

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There are nine GB&I players competing this year – Toby BRIGGS (San Francisco), Callum BRUCE (San Diego State), Archie DAVIES (East Tennessee State), Alex FITZPATRICK (Wake Forest), Max KENNEDY (Louisville), John MURPHY (Louisville), Rhys NEVIN-WHARTON (Tennessee), Joe PAGDIN (Florida) and Mark POWER (Wake Forest).

Ben CARBERRY (East Tennessee State) and Dev MORLEY (Louisville) have also been selected as No. 6 substitute players for their respective teams so may see some action. Substitutes can be used by coaches in both the stroke play and match play stages of the Championship to cover injuries and loss of form.

Here is a list of the competing teams and individuals, along with their Regional site result in brackets: –

TEAMS
Arizona State (Albuquerque T2)
Arkansas (Kingston Springs 2nd)
Clemson (Kingston Springs T4)
East Tennessee State (Cre Elum 1st)
Florida (Cre Elum 5th)
Florida State (Tallahassee 1st)
Georgia (Tallahassee 2nd)
Georgia Tech (Tallahassee 3rd)
Illinois (Stillwater 2nd)
Liberty (Tallahassee 4th)
Little Rock (Stillwater 5th)
Louisville (Noblesville 4th)
North Carolina (Noblesville T2)
North Carolina State (Kingston Springs T4)
Oklahoma (Albuquerque 4th)
Oklahoma State (Stillwater 1st)
Oregon State (Albuquerque T2)
Pepperdine (Cre Elum 4th)
Sam Houston State (Stillwater 4th)
San Diego (Albuquerque 15th)
San Diego State (Kingston Springs 3rd)
San Francisco (Cre Elum 2nd)
SMU (Stillwater 3rd)
Tennessee (Noblesville T2)
Texas (Noblesville 1st)
Texas Tech (Albuquerque 1st)
TCU (Tallahassee 5th)
UAB (Noblesville 5th)
Vanderbilt (Kingston Springs 1st)
Wake Forest (Cre Elum 3rd)

INDIVIDUALS
Cole Bradley – Purdue (Noblesville 1st)
Ryan Hall – South Carolina (Albuquerque 1st)
Tristan Mandur – Utah (Cre Elum T4)
AJ Ott – Colorado State (Stillwater T3)
James Piot – Michigan State (Kingston Springs T4)
Michael Sakane – Jacksonville (Tallahassee 2nd)

Florida State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Clemson, Texas and North Carolina are considered the favourites to win the 2021 National Championship.

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Weather Forecast

Unsurprisingly the weather forecast for Scottsdale, Arizona is perfect. Perhaps a little warm for the GB&I players.

Fri 28th May – Sunny / Wind 8 mph W / Temp. Min. 21°C / Max. 38°C,
Sat 29th May – Sunny / Wind 9 mph W  / Temp. Min. 22°C / Max. 37°C
Sun 30th May – Sunny / Wind 9 mph W / Temp. Min. 23°C / Max. 37°C
Mon 31st May – Sunny / Wind 8 mph W / Temp. Min. 23°C / Max. 37°C
Tue 1st Jun – Sunny / Wind 8 mph W / Temp. Min. 23°C / Max. 37°C
Wed 2nd Jun – Sunny / Wind 9 mph W / Temp. Min. 24°C / Max. 39°C

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Click these links to view the – GOLFSTAT STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

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2020 Results

The 2020 NCAA Division 1 National Championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2019 Results

Stanford beat Texas 3-2-0 in the 2019 NCAA Division I National Championship match at Blessings G.C. in Arkansas to secure their 9th national title.

The Stanford Team (Photo: Jack Dempsey NCAA Photos)

Matthew WOLFF (USA) of Oklahoma State won the Individual 2019 NCAA Division I National title. His 278 (-10) total was 5 shots better than second placed Steven FISK (USA).

Just 5 players from the field of 156 recorded an under par score over the 72 holes.

Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) finished tied 15th in the Individual stroke play standings. Consistent rounds of 75, 73, 72 and 72 saw him post a +4 total. His Wake Forest team lost 3-2-0 to Stanford in the quarter finals of the match play stage, albeit freshman Fitzpatrick won his single beating Junior Henry Shimp by 1 hole.

Harry HALL (ENG), John MURPHY (IRL) and Dev MORLEY (IRL) were the three other GB&I players competing in Arkansas.

Cornishman Hall posted a 54-hole total of 222 (+6) to finish tied 34th. His UNLV team finished on 906 (+42) in tied 20th place and he failed to pick up one of the leading Individual spots.

The two Irishmen were further down the field. John MURPHY (IRL) +17 finished tied 110th and Dev MORLEY (IRE) +18 tied 119th. Their Louisville team were 29th on 932 (+68).

Matthew Wolff (Photo: Jack Dempsey NCAA Photos)

Click these links to view the – GOLFSTAT STROKE PLAY RESULTS – TEAM and INDIVIDUAL

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