ETSU making third straight trip to Scottsdale

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (May 24, 2023) – Playing late into May has become a familiar feeling for the nationally-ranked ETSU men’s golf program. 

For the third straight year, the 35th-ranked Buccaneers are set to tee it up at the NCAA Championship, which gets underway Friday from Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. 

The Bucs, who are one of 13 teams making a third straight trip to Scottdale this weekend, overcame a rollercoaster of emotions to secure their spot in the National Championship field. Last Wednesday, ETSU was on the outside looking in as final round play began at the NCAA Regional in Las Vegas. Following their first nine holes, the Blue & Gold still sat in sixth place and were in the same position when a lightning delay halted play for an hour with the Bucs sitting on holes No. 9-11. The stoppage of play worked to ETSU’s advantage as the Blue & Gold played its final seven holes at six-under-par and had a one-shot cushion in fifth place with their final golfer on the course. 

However, the Bucs opened the door for Northwestern as ETSU bogeyed its final hole, resulting in a playoff with the Wildcats. After another lengthy wait for teams to clear the course in the final round, ETSU and Northwestern went to playoff with holes No. 11 and 15-18 coming into play. 

After having to rally from 11 shots down on the back nine to secure a third straight Southern Conference Championship in late April, the Buccaneers were used to the pressure. 

The Blue & Gold thrived yet again. 

ETSU made quick work of the Wildcats, winning the playoff by three shots to become the final team to punch its ticket into the 30-team national championship field. 

This marks the 20th trip to the NCAA Championship for the Bucs – and after missing the cut in their first two trips to Scottsdale – ETSU is eyeing some redemption this week in the desert. ETSU’s best finish at the NCAA Championship came in 1996, while the Blue & Gold have four all-time top-10 finishes at this event in program history. 

With three team tournament wins and three individual titles under its belt this spring, ETSU is hoping for a longer stint in Arizona this time around.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

Name: NCAA Championship          

Dates: Friday, May 26 – Wednesday, May 31

Location: Scottsdale, Ariz. | Grayhawk Golf Club

Course Info: Par 70 – 7,289 yards

Format: 18-18-18-18 (Friday-Monday); Match Play Quarterfinals and Semifinals (Tuesday), Championship (Wednesday)   

Live Scoring: Golfstat

Television Broadcast: Golf Channel -- The final round of stroke play will be televised on the Golf Channel on Monday between 5-9 p.m. ET … Tuesday’s quarterfinal will be televised on Golf Channel from 12-2:30 p.m. ET and the semifinals will be carried live from 5-9 p.m. ET … Wednesday’s championship match will be televised live from 5-9 p.m. ET

Weather: Friday – 97°, Sunny, Winds S @ 12 mph; Saturday – 97°, Sunny, Winds S @ 9 mph; Sunday – 99°, Sunny, Winds S @ 10 mph; Monday – 98°, Partly Cloudy, Winds S @ 11 mph; Tuesday – 96°, Mostly Sunny, Winds SSW @ 8 mph; Wednesday – 97°, Sunny, Winds SSW @ 9 mph 

ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT

• The National Championship will be held at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
• The field features 30 teams and six individuals
• Teams and individuals are guaranteed to play 54 holes with the first cut coming after Sunday’s third round … The top 15 teams and top nine individuals from a non-advancing team will play the final round of stroke play on Monday to determine the individual champion and the top eight teams will then advance to match play
• Match play will then determine the team champion with the quarterfinals and semifinals being held on Tuesday and the championship match held on Wednesday
• Since the championship moved to the match play format in 2009, ETSU has yet to advance to the match play event
• ETSU’s top finish came in 1996 where the Bucs finished third as a team
• Texas returns to defend its title as the Longhorns defeated Arizona State, 3-2, in the championship match last season 

THE FIELD

• ETSU is one of 30 teams in the championship field. Below is a breakdown of the 30 teams according to their seed in the championship field.

No. 1 Vanderbilt

No. 2 North Carolina

No. 3 Illinois

No. 4 Arizona State

No. 5 Texas Tech

No. 6 Stanford

No. 7 Florida State

No. 8 Pepperdine

No. 9 Florida

No. 10 Oklahoma

No. 11 Georgia Tech

No. 12 Auburn

No. 13 Texas A&M

No. 14 Alabama

No. 15 Virginia

No. 16 Texas

No. 17 Mississippi State

No. 18 Oregon

No. 19 Colorado State

No. 20 Ohio State

No. 21 Georgia

No. 22 Arkansas

No. 23 Baylor

No. 24 Duke

No. 25 ETSU

No. 26 BYU

No. 27 San Francisco

No. 28 Chattanooga

No. 29 New Mexico

No. 30 Colorado

• With ETSU and Chattanooga in this year’s championship field, it marks the first time multiple SoCon teams are in the championship since 2001 when ETSU, College of Charleston and Georgia Southern were all in the field … Furman’s Sam Lape is also playing as an individual, marking the first time a SoCon player has made the championship as an individual since 2015 when Buccaneer Gudmundur Kristjannson and Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston both qualified for the championship

ETSU’s LINEUP

• The Bucs’ lineup consists of one redshirt junior, one redshirt sophomore, two true sophomore and one true freshman
• ETSU’s lineup features #1 Mats Ege, #2 Algot Kleen, #3 Archie Davies, #4 Matty Dodd-Berry and #5 Jack Tickle
• ETSU will be grouped with BYU and San Francisco in the first two rounds … The Bucs tee off Friday from No. 10 at 4:20 p.m. ET and Saturday from No. 1 at 11 a.m. ET

COVERAGE

• Fans can follow live scoring via Golfstat.com
• For television coverage, which begins on Monday, visit GolfChannel.com
• In addition, live tweets will be available by following the Bucs on Twitter @ETSU_MGolf.

For more information on Buccaneer men’s golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s golf page.