2014 NCAA Golf Championships Discussion Thread

[MS256]

http://www.ncaa.com/news/golf-men/article/2014-05-17/teams-individuals-named-2014-division-i-mens-golf-championship

Of course I'm hoping for a repeat for Alabama, but I'm biased.

[mvmac]

Look forward to watching it on TGC

[DoubleEagle]

Looks like more schools from "warmer" climate areas.  Could it be that they pretty much have the opportunity to play "year 'round"?

[MS256]

Looks like more schools from "warmer" climate areas.  Could it be that they pretty much have the opportunity to play "year 'round"?

That's probably a big part of it, with some exceptions. My guess is that it's a lot easier to recruit the best high school players to warmer climates and a higher percentage of them probably come from warmer climates to start with.

Right or wrong a lot of recruiting success comes down to how much money is spent on facilities. I don't know about other schools but Alabama spends a ton of money on the golf facilities now and that wasn't always the case.

Just about the time they started really upgrading is just about the time they started getting better at golf...Funny how that works.

[mvmac]

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2014/05/the-pitch-for-watching-the-nca.html

The hard part is done. An individual champion has been crowned -- Stanford's Cameron  Wilson in a playoff over Georgia Tech's Ollie Schniederjans -- and the field is down to eight. If you don't record or watch the NCAA Men's Championship the next two days, you will regret missing the opportunity for all of eternity.

Okay, that's a tad strong. But if you're tired of another week of 72-hole stroke-play events with logo-clads acting bored, a few points for your consideration.

* Prairie Dunes. One of the great courses in the world is on display, and Golf Channel has gone all out with some stellar crane camera shots to put this Perry and Press Maxwell design into perspective. Even with all the rains, the wildly contoured greens are still wicked fast. Watching today's college players negotiate the bumps and breaks made for great fun during Monday's first day of live coverage.

* Team Match Play. Yes, the ultimate in this realm still looms this fall at the Ryder Cup, but in these school-vs.-school contests composed of five individual matches, all five matches count. Though television hasn't been there to show it, the format has proven wildly dramatic since it was started in 2009. Throw in a pesky protagonist like Prairie Dunes, and the antics may be greater than ever. You'll get to see the passion, the agony, the burden of team golf on display, and it'll be a reminder that this same format -- only with three-person teams -- would have been terrific for the Olympics.

* Push carts. NCAA individual champion Wilson (above) started using one a few years ago because of a bad back. His Stanford teammate Patrick Rodgers, college golf's top-ranked player and potentially the PGA Tour's next rising star, realized Wilson was on to something. Now the entire Cardinal team, the No. 1 seed heading into the match-play competition, uses the vehicles banned at some clubs because . . . well they look wrong, apparently. Trust me, Wilson and Rodgers are cool customers with the brainpower you'd expect from Stanford golfers. They're onto something that is accepted seemingly everywhere else in the world. Let's hope they're trendsetters. We need more people walking. And fewer back injuries.

Coverage Tuesday has Golf Channel on-air from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET followed by Golf Central and then afternoon coverage from 5 p.m. ET until the conclusion of play.

QUARTERFINAL MATCH PLAY:

7 a.m. CT Match 1 - No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 7 SMU (off No. 1 tee) Match 2 - No. 3 LSU vs. No. 6 UCLA (off No. 10 tee)

7:50 a.m. CT Match 3 - No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 8 Illinois (off No. 1 tee) Match 4 - No. 4 Oklahoma St. vs. No. 5 Georgia Tech (off No. 10 tee)

SEMIFINAL MATCH PLAY:

1 p.m. CT Winner of match No. 1 vs. winner of match No. 2

1:45 p.m. CT Winner of match No. 3 vs. winner of match No. 4

The two teams advancing from the semifinals Tuesday, will meet for the 2014 NCAA national championship at 1:20 p.m. CT Wednesday.

[Golfingdad]

My apologies ... I didn't realize we had a thread for this tournament and posted the following in the Michelle Wie/Pushcart thread instead:

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Anywho's ... I watched some of the college tournament yesterday and it was pretty cool watching guys at that level playing caddy for themselves.

It was also fascinating to follow the team competition as it came down near the end. With 4 scores being totaled (and the worst being thrown out) and the teams vying for the top 8 (advance to match play today) all collectively within a shot or two, it was extremely volatile. It looks like UCLA was 12th or 13th and at +10 when the telecast started, and by the time it all ended they were at +5 and in 6th place.

The most heartbreaking part was this guy (forgot his name) from South Carolina. With two holes left, he was one shot out of the individual lead, and his team was in 4th or 5th place overall at, I believe, +4. He bogeyed 17, so he needed a miracle eagle on 18 to get into the playoff with the Stanford guy and the Georgia Tech guy, but he hit a wild tee shot into the scrub, had to take an unplayable, then came up short with his approach. He hit his chip shot about 10 feet long, was not able to get up and down from there, and settled for a double bogey. When the dust settled, he missed out on the individual honors AND knocked his team out of the match play finals. Poor guy.

By the way, anybody know exactly how the format works for a team match play competition? Do they play 5 separate individual matches and whichever team wins 3 or more moves on? Or do they only choose a couple of players from each team and play foursomes or four-ball, or what?? I'm dying to know here. I've never watched college golf in my life until yesterday and now I can't get enough!

[MS256]

Looking forward to watching the finals today.

On the off chance somebody has yesterday's recorded.

I was surprised that Oklahoma State beat Stanford to make it to the finals. The way Stanford blew everybody away in the stroke play rounds I figured they were the one shoe in in the semi-finals to make the finals.

You never know.

RTR anyway.

[MS256]

RTR again!!!!!

[Golfingdad]

[SPOILER=Warning: Spoiler!] [SPOILER=Warning: Spoiler!]RTR again!!!!![/SPOILER] [/SPOILER]

Really glad TGC showed this competition (just finished watching it on dvr) because that was exciting! Would have preferred To see it a little tighter at the end, and perhaps go to the final match, but still, the whole thing was quite enjoyable. Now I'll have to remember these names because I'm probably going to be hearing some of them on the PGA tour soon.

[MS256]

Really glad TGC showed this competition (just finished watching it on dvr) because that was exciting! Would have preferred To see it a little tighter at the end, and perhaps go to the final match, but still, the whole thing was quite enjoyable. Now I'll have to remember these names because I'm probably going to be hearing some of them on the PGA tour soon.

I thought televising as much as they did was a really good thing for college golf.

Maybe I was just out of the loop but I don't remember it being covered that much before. (???) The last couple of years I never even knew how the final matches turned out until after it was over and I looked it up on the internet that night.

[Golfingdad]

I thought televising as much as they did was a really good thing for college golf.

Maybe I was just out of the loop but I don't remember it being covered that much before. (???) The last couple of years I never even knew how the final matches turned out until after it was over and I looked it up on the internet that night.

Yeah, I don't think they've shown it before.

BTW, I thought that course was really cool.  I've heard of it, but don't know anything about it.  I think my favorite was #15.  The 200 yard par 3 through the chute of trees ... the camera angle made it look like those trees were in a position to actually force them to shape their shots (although I'm sure they weren't).

[MS256]

Yeah, I don't think they've shown it before.

BTW, I thought that course was really cool.  I've heard of it, but don't know anything about it.  I think my favorite was #15.  The 200 yard par 3 through the chute of trees ... the camera angle made it look like those trees were in a position to actually force them to shape their shots (although I'm sure they weren't).

Yeah the first time they showed that hole my first reaction was Whoa I wonder how easy it would be to hit those trees. Never saw anybody have a problem so you are probably right and it's not like it looks.

(Although I bet I could figure out a way to hit them).

There was a hole on a course we used to play in Tuscaloosa that had an overhanging limb out in front of a tee box and every time I stepped up there I wondered if anybody ever hit that limb. Then one day I answered my own question by hitting it.

[mvmac]

PING excels at NCAA men’s and

women’s golf championships

PHOENIX (May 29, 2014) – PING’s significant presence in both team support and equipment played an influential role in the success of men and women at the NCAA Division I Golf Championships. Among the highlights, PING bags were #1 at both tournaments, and the S55 iron was #1 among the men.

PING-supported teams finished 1-2 on the men’s side, with the University of Alabama and Oklahoma State University, respectively, at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. Both teams wore PING apparel and headwear, carried PING bags, and several players relied on PING clubs. The winner of the individual title utilized an i20 driver.

PING won the driver count, was #1 in all woods played, and was T1 in the iron tally at the women’s championships at Tulsa Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

“We have been a proud and enthusiastic supporter of college golf for many years, and it’s a thrill to be affiliated with these accomplished teams and the men and women who represent their schools so well,” said John A. Solheim, PING Chairman & CEO. “College is a special time, and these are memories they’ll cherish forever as teammates. We share in their excitement, and we’ll continue to give schools the support and the tools they need to help their teams perform their best.”

Scott Sullivan, Senior Player Development Manager, said PING’s affiliation with a number of college programs has helped the company forge long-lasting relationships. “As a result of our scouting efforts, we’ve been fortunate to follow many of these golfers as they climbed through the amateur ranks,” Sullivan said. “To see them become standout players at elite schools and win titles is gratifying as a company. Whether they go on to play professionally or they pursue other careers, we hope to continue their brand loyalty long-term because it sends a positive message to be associated with influential people.”