With the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, not less than two months away, every tournament is of vital importance within college golf.
And last week, there was no shortage of spectacular performances. Just look at the NCAA records that were broken in the desert. And right around the corner is the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, arguably the premier women’s amateur event of the year.
Each week, Golfweek will put together a roundup of the best individual and team performances from across the country, as teams continue on the road to Grayhawk, highlighting spectacular performances and keeping you up to date on which teams are making a title push.
Here’s what you need to know from the last week in college golf.
Arizona men capture college golf version of NIT
Plenty of the best men’s college golf teams were in Arizona at Omni Tuscon National for the National Invitational Tournament, and it was home cooking for Arizona, ranked 17th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
The Wildcats shot 9 under in the final round, and it was just enough to hold off a hard-charging No. 10 Pepperdine squad, which carded an 18-under performance to finish at 23 under for the tournament. However, Arizona was one better and captured the team title.
Second-ranked Arizona State finished third at 22 under while No. 9 Illinois and No. 18 Oklahoma State tied for fourth at 21 under. Also in the field were No. 12 Florida, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 25 Colorado State and No. 28 San Diego State, among others.
A Wildcat also shared medalist honors in the individual competition as Zach Pollo and USC’s Jackson Rivera shot 13-under 203, three clear of the field. Pepperdine’s William Mouw placed third at 10 under.
Florida State women defend home turf
There was no shortage of star power at the top of the leaderboard in the Florida State Match Up. It’s a group of the best women’s college golfers, most of whom will tee it up next week at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Seminole freshman Lottie Woad won the second title of her college career, shooting 4-under 212 to capture the title. Even with a 3-over performance in the final round, it was enough to win by two shots over Tulane’s Carla Bernat. Woad’s teammate, Charlotte Heath, tied for third with Kentucky’s Jensen Castle, who won the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
As a team, No. 10 Florida State ran away with the women’s title. The Seminoles were even-par after 54 holes, 25 shots better than second-place Augusta. Kentucky placed third at 28 over while Kent State was fourth at 39 over.
Alabama downs Vanderbilt
There hasn’t been many instances of the Vanderbilt men’s golf team not winning this season. The Commodores had won four straight tournaments heading into the Linger Longer Invitational at Great Waters Golf Course in Eatonton, Georgia.
However, it was SEC foe Alabama that finally knocked off the top-ranked team in men’s college golf. The Crimson Tide shot 8 under in the final round and finished at 14-under 850, eight shots clear of second-place Georgia Tech. The Commodores placed third at even par, shooting 4 over in the final round.
Nick Dunlap, a freshman at Alabama, captured the individual title. He’s the first Crimson Tide freshman to win medalist honors since Robby Shelton in 2014. He carded a 10-under 206, two shots clear of Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht. Gordon Sargent, the No. 1 golfer in the Golfweek Sagarin rankings, finished T-4 at 5 under. His next start will be at Augusta National in the Masters.
Iowa State breaks NCAA records
In case you missed it, last weekend was special for Iowa State.
The Cyclones set or tied numerous NCAA records, finishing at 60 under at the Mountain View Collegiate. Here’s more on that incredible performance.
Golfweek/Sagarin rankings
There hasn’t been much movement up top in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. Vanderbilt and Stanford remain the top-ranked teams, and their stars, Gordon Sargent and Rose Zhang, remain the No. 1 players.
However, there has been plenty of movements as teams and players continue to try to hit their stride heading into the postseason.
