Golf Begins NCAA Championship Play Thursday
5/14/2013 11:46:45 AM | Men's Golf
NCAA Golf Regionals
Columbus, Ohio
Scarlet Course at Ohio State - Par 71, 7,286 yards
Host: Ohio State
Full notes | VIDEO: Preview with Coach Mays | Tournament Central | The Scarlet Course | Round 1 tee times | Digital Program
On the Range
¦ Georgia Southern makes its 21st NCAA Golf Championship appearance May 16-18 as the Eagles travel to Columbus, Ohio, to compete in the 13-team regional field.
¦ Eighty-one teams and 45 individuals have been selected to compete at six regional sites. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals at the Capital City Club Crabapple Course in Atlanta May 28-June 2.
¦ Georgia Southern received an at-large bid to the postseason after winning three tournaments in 2012-13 and finishing in the top-5 in six of 11 events. It’s the 14th time the Eagles have received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship.
¦ It’s the 10th NCAA Regional appearance for Georgia Southern under head coach Larry Mays and fourth in the last five seasons. The Eagles’ last regional bid came in 2011 after winning the Southern Conference Championship. Georgia Southern received at-large bids in 2009 and 2010. Georgia Southern made six consecutive NCAA Championship appearances from 2001-06.
¦ The Eagles will compete on the par-71, 7,286-yard Scarlet Course at the Ohio State Golf Club. It’s the fourth time Georgia Southern has played the Scarlet Course in NCAA play but the first time since the course was refurbished in 2006. The Eagles finished 14th at the NCAA Championships there in 1975, seventh in 1980 and 28th in 2002.
¦ It’s just the second time the Eagles have participated in an NCAA Regional above the Mason-Dixon line. Georgia Southern finished 15th at the regional at Yale University in 2004.
¦ The Eagles (55th in Golfstat rankings) are seeded ninth in the field, which has also contains 10 individuals. Other teams at the regional are: New Mexico (6th in Golfstat rankings), Stanford (8), Auburn (18), South Carolina (20), Missouri (29), UNLV (35), Texas Tech (41), Chattanooga (44), San Francisco (57), Virginia (65), Charlotte (68) and Valparaiso (203).
¦ The Eagles placed eighth in their last regional appearance at the Golden Ocala Golf Club in 2011. The Eagles posted their best regional finish in 2010, tying for fourth at the Capital City Club Crabapple Course, site of this year’s NCAA Finals.
Team Tourney Champs
¦ Georgia Southern earned an NCAA bid on the strength of three tournament victories in 2012-13. The Eagles won the AutoTrader Collegiate Classic Oct. 16, the Old Dominion/Outer Banks Intercollegiate Oct. 23, and the Wexford Intercollegiate Feb. 19.
¦ It’s the first time Georgia Southern has won three tournaments in a season since 2008-09.
¦ The wins at the AutoTrader and ODU/Outer Banks Intercollegiate were in back-to-back outings, the first time the Eagles have done that since 1982.
¦ The Eagles fired an 11-under total of 277 in the final round at the Outer Banks to tie for the fifth-lowest round in school history.
Medalist Honors
¦ Scott Wolfes won two individual medalist honors this season.
¦ The sophomore won the Invitational at the Ocean Course, the first tournament of the fall, at the site of the 2012 PGA Championship, won by Rory McIlroy won about a month earlier.
¦ Wolfes took home medalist honors at the Old Dominion/Outer Banks Intercollegiate after topping Radford’s Weston Eklund in a one-hole playoff.
¦ Wolfes is the first individual medalist for Georgia Southern since Logan Blondell won the Kauai Collegiate Cup in 2009 after shooting an 8-under par 208.
Golfer of the Year
¦ Wolfes was named the SoCon Golfer of the Year and all-conference following the league’s championship in April.
¦ He is the first Eagle to win Golfer of the Year since Logan Blondell in 2009 and the first to earn all-conference honors in consecutive seasons since Bryan Jones (2006-07).
¦ Wolfes finished first or second in five events and posted seven top-10 finishes. He was named SoCon Golfer of the Week twice and is currently ranked 42 in the GolfWeek/Sagarin Rankings.
The Wiley Veteran
¦ Georgia Southern has just one senior on its roster, and junior Hayden Anderson is the only regular in the lineup who has NCAA Regional experience.
¦ Anderson shot 73-69-71=213 (-3) to tie for 14th at the 2011 regional at Golden Ocala Golf Club in Florida. He has placed in the top-10 three times this season.
Finishing Kick
¦ The Eagles have averaged a final round team score of 292.27 in its 11 tournaments this season.
¦ Georgia Southern has fired a 290 or lower in its final round in six tournaments, including a 282 at the Mason Rudolph Championships, a 277 at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate and a 284 at the SunTrust Gator Invitational.
Don’t I Know You?
¦ The Eagles have played in tournaments with four teams in their regional: Virginia (Mason Rudolph, Schenkel), Chattanooga (AutoTrader, SoCon Champs), South Carolina (AutoTrader) and Auburn (Samford Intercollegiate, Gary Koch).
¦ The Eagles finished ahead of Virginia in both tourneys and finished ahead of Chattanooga in the AutoTrader but behind the Mocs in the SoCon Championships.
¦ The Eagles finished ahead of South Carolina at the AutoTrader and behind Auburn both times they saw the Tigers.
Head Coach Larry Mays
¦ In his 13th season at the helm of the program. Has led the Eagles to 10 NCAA Championship appearances and advanced to the finals four times.
¦ Two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year (2000-01, 2008-09).
¦ Has led the Eagles to three Southern Conference Championships (2003, 2006, 2011).
¦ Has coached three All-Americans, three SoCon Golfers of the Year, six SoCon Freshman of the Year and 21 All-SoCon selections.
¦ Georgia Southern has won 16 tournament titles during Mays’ tenure, including three this season.
Strickland Semifinalist
¦ Assistant coach Carter Collins was named a semifinalist for the Jan Strickland Award presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf, given by the Golf Coaches Association of America to the assistant coach who has excelled in working with their student-athletes both on the course and in the classroom.
¦ It’s the second consecutive season Collins has been named a semifinalist for the honor. The seven other semifinalists were Florida’s John Handrigan, Chris Hill of Houston, Northwestern’s David Inglis, Brian Kortan of New Mexico, Ryan Murphy of Texas, Stanford’s Phil Rowe, Casey VanDamme of Tennesee and Wake Forest’s Daniel Walters.
¦ Collins also won the 2012 Johnny Skeadas Cup, a points-based award involving many amateur golf tournaments in Georgia, stretching from March to September.
The Schenkel Invitational - Georgia Southern’s Home Tourney
¦ The Eagles hosted the 34th Schenkel Invitational at Statesboro’s Forest Heights Country Club in March.
¦ Georgia Southern tied for sixth with Kentucky in what turned out to be another excellent field.
¦ 2013 Schenkel participants Alabama (1st at Schenkel), Texas (2), North Florida (3), Florida (4), Central Florida (5), Kentucky (T6), Vanderbilt (8), UAB (T9), Virginia (11) and North Texas (12) all earned NCAA Regional bids.
¦ Blake Morris (Ole Miss), Sean Bosdosh (Maryland), Josh Lorenzetti (College of Charleston) and Alex Ellis (College of Charleston) earned NCAA bids as individuals.
¦ Georgia Southern’s Scott Wolfes (-4), who played his final three holes of each round a combined 6-under par, tied for fifth. It’s the first top-5 finish for an Eagle at the Schenkel since Logan Blondell placed third in 2008.
