SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — At the conclusion of NCAA regional play, a group text amongst the ACC coaches started up with “congratulations” and “let’s go” talk. Five teams – North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Virginia and Duke – all punched their tickets to Grayhawk for the finals.
That league pride may not result in any text messages floating around here after 54 holes at Grayhawk. Those eight spots that advance to match play are too coveted for even your best friend.
“Those are the people we are in meetings with. We cheer for them and have complete respect for them, and we know them very well,” Florida State coach Trey Jones said.
While there is some buzz around the ACC here at Grayhawk Golf Club this week, it hasn’t always been like that.
ACC teams have not seen much success in the NCAA match play format. Five teams have had a shot at bracket play: Georgia Tech, Duke, Florida State, North Carolina and Wake Forest. Those five have combined for 11 appearances in match play since the switch to head-to-head play in 2009.
Georgia Tech leads the way with four appearances, and the combined ACC won-loss record is 4-11 with Duke’s 2-2 mark being the best.
Golfweek/Sagarin rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
NCAA Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Photos
No ACC team has even made it to the final match. That may change this year.
“Florida State is way better than people think, and obviously North Carolina has had a three-year run at this, and Bowen is doing a great job at Virginia,” Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler said. “It’s a really good league.”
Jones added: “We know that Chapel Hill is ultra talented, Georgia Tech has a talented team and Virginia has just gotten better and better, and Duke is here.”
Is there a reason that the ACC may finally breakthrough in this format?
Three years ago, a format change at the conference championship may have had something to do with it. Depending on who you ask, the answer will be a little different. The change was made to play the normal 54 holes of stroke play with the addition of a cut to four teams to play match play.
“I don’t know if it has made us as a conference better,” Virginia coach Bowen Sargent said. “It probably prepares us better mentally.”
That preparation comes from having to stare down the cut line that teams see in the postseason.
“You face the cut line at regionals and two cut lines here,” Heppler said. “For me, how do you make the conference feel like that? It was not about going to match play, it was about making that conference championship feel this as far as stroke play goes. Create the feeling of a cut at the regional and two cuts here more than anything.”
North Carolina sits in fourth place after three rounds and is the top ACC team by one shot over Georgia Tech. Florida State and Virginia also have a top-eight finish within grasp.
For the Tar Heels, they did not experience the good side of the cut at the conference championship, but maybe that helped here in the postseason.
“You feel a little bit of juice now at ACC Championship and if it goes your way you build some confidence, and if it does not go your way you come home and have some conversations,” North Carolina coach Andrew Dibitetto said. “It did not go our way at ACCs.”
North Carolina finished T-6 and missed match play at the ACC.
“From my perspective when we changed that format it was to help our teams prepare for the postseason. Now three years in I think there is some benefit to it,” Dibitetto said.
The ACC has not won a national championship since Clemson did so in 2003. Prior to that, only Wake Forest has won an NCAA title – the Deacons have won three (1974, 1975 and 1986).
There is a good chance that could change over the next few days at Grayhawk.
