The No. 7 men’s golf team jumped from seventh to fourth place with a 4-under 280 in the final round of the NCAA Lubbock Regional on Saturday, May 16, to earn their fourth straight ticket to the NCAA Championship.
The Tigers, who were one shot off the cutline after the second round, finished the final two holes 2-under to advance to the NCAA Championship in Bradenton, Florida, on Friday, May 29, to Wednesday,June 3.
“It was a stressful day and kind of up and down,” coach Nick Clinard said. “We got off to a great start there, getting it to 9-under, and we had some pick-ups on the par 3 eighth. We had a lot of great shots coming down the stretch.”
No. 2 Texas won the NCAA Regional at 22-under, followed by No. 9 Texas Tech, Duke and No. 7 Auburn.
Trailing the Tigers are Purdue and Houston, tied next with the Cougars winning in a playoff for the fifth and final spot to advance.
Senior Dan Stringfellow shot a 4-under final round 67 including birdies on his final two holes, and sophomore Ryan Benton had a 3-under 68 as both tied for seventh to lead the Tigers.
Stringfellow, who had five birdies and an eagle, tied for seventh at 4-under after a pair of even par rounds the first two days.
“I started out really well and made an eagle on my ninth hole and was feeling pretty good,” Stringfellow said. “I made two bogeys right around the turn. I was getting a little shaky, but Coach got me pumped up and made some putts on the last two holes for birdie.”
Clinard gave Stringfellow a pat on the back following his performance.
"Dan (Stringfellow) made about a 15-footer for birdie on nine (Auburn’s final hole) when he had to make it,” Clinard said. “He has just turned into a big-time player. You can’t be more proud of all the guys. It was a total team effort.”
Benton added five birdies of his own, including four on his outward nine, the back nine.
“We all needed to come out and play well,” Benton said. “Yesterday I didn’t score well, but I was hitting it well. I knew today was going to be a good day because it was only a matter of time before I made some birdies and got the round going. I just wanted to have fun out there, stay in the moment and take it one shot at a time."
All-SEC junior Michael Johnson tied for 30th at 1-over 214 with a final round 2-over 73. All-SEC freshman Ben Schlottman tied for 54th at 6-over but had a 1-under 70 to close. All-SEC sophomore Matt Gilchrest tied for 63rd at 77-223.
“It is really big because this course was playing tough," Benton said. "We are a really good team and there are a lot of good teams out here. We definitely deserve to be at the national championship, and I am glad we found a way to get through.”
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