The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Southwest Regional Championship
No. 1 Men's Golf advances to NCAA Championship for sixth-consecutive season
05.19.2012 | Men's Golf
May 19, 2012
NORMAN, Okla. -- The No. 1 Texas Men's Golf team punched a ticket to its sixth-consecutive NCAA Championship with a second-place showing at the Norman Regional on Saturday afternoon. The Longhorns carded a field-best 4-over-par 292 at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club to finish the 54-hole regional with a final score of even-par 864 (279-293-292).
Texas - one of five squads in the 14-team field to earn a berth to the 30-team national championship - will begin competition at the NCAA Championship at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., on May 29.
Trailing eventual champion Washington by nine strokes after 36 holes, Texas made a late rally but it wasn't enough to overcome the Huskies. The Longhorns' four counting scorers - senior Dylan Frittelli, junior Cody Gribble, sophomore Toni Hakula and freshman Jordan Spieth - played the front nine at 2-under and were +6 after the turn.
Gribble saved his best round for last with a 1-under 71. He dipped to -3 on the day with an eagle on the par-4 10th hole where he drove the green and drained a 20-footer. Gribble (7-75-71) finished tied for 27th place at 7-over 223.
Frittelli was 1-over in his final round after making his third birdie on 18. Frittelli (70-74-73) had a 12-foot look at eagle, but missed the putt just inches to the left and tapped in for birdie. He finished tied for seventh place with Spieth (66-77-74) - who's only birdie also came on the 18th hole - at 1-over 217.
Hakula overcame four bogeys and a double to finish at 2-over. Hakula (71-73-74=218) finished tied for 10th place to mark his fourth top-10 of the season.
Junior Julio Vegas (72-71-76=219) rounded out the Texas squad in a tie for 15th place.
UT's four top-15 individual finishes were the most by any team in the field.
Final NCAA Norman Regional Championship standings - Top five teams advancing to NCAA Championship
Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (par 72, 7,351 yards)
1. Washington - 286-281-293=860 (-4)
2. TEXAS - 279-293-292=864 (E)
T3. Florida State - 279-292-300=871 (+7)
T3. Illinois - 284-291-296=871 (+7)
5. Oklahoma - 287-292-295=874 (+10)
6. Georgia Tech - 290-286-307=883 (+19)
7. St. Mary's (Calif.) - 286-302-304=892 (+28)
8. South Carolina - 294-302-299=895 (+31)
T9. Arizona - 289-311-302=902 (+38)
10. San Diego - 303-299-300=902 (+38)
11. Sacramento State - 292-307-304=903 (+39)
12. IUPUI - 297-307-311=915 (+51)
13. Middle Tennessee State - 304-316-302=922 (+58)
14. Loyola U.-Chicago - 307-314-323=944 (+80)
Final Top-14 Individuals
1. Chris Williams, Washington - 73-68-68=209 (-7)
2. Thomas Pieters, Illinois - 68-69-73=210 (-6)
3. Daniel Berger, Florida State - 69-69-75=213 (-3)
4. Cheng-Tsung Pan, Washington - 69-71-74=214 (-2)
5. Michael Gellerman, Oklahoma - 77-67-71=215 (-1)
6. Wesley Graham, Florida State - 70-75-71=216 (E)
T7. Jordan Spieth, TEXAS - 66-77-74=217 (+1)
T7. Dylan Frittelli, TEXAS - 70-74-73=217 (+1)
T7. Luke Guthrie, Illinois - 69-73-75=217 (+1)
T10. Toni Hakula, TEXAS - 71-73-74=218 (+2)
T10. Four additional individuals at 2-over 218
Additional Texas players
T15. Julio Vegas - 72-71-76=219 (+3)
T27. Cody Gribble - 77-75-71=223 (+7)
POST-TOURNAMENT COMMENTS
Texas Head Coach John Fields
On advancing to the NCAA Championship: It's been an interesting year. We've won seven times, but advancing to the national championship - our ultimate goal - everything came down to this weekend. We tried to diffuse the pressure as much as possible, but it's still there. There are good teams here that didn't make it past this week, and we're pleased to be moving on.
On the performance by junior Cody Gribble: I was thrilled that Cody played some of the best golf he's played all year today. A 71 in these conditions is excellent, and he really had it going for a little while. That bodes well for the future.
