The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA D-1 National Championship
Men's Golf preview: NCAA Championship [May 23-28]
05.21.2014 | Men's Golf
The Longhorns head to Hutchinson, Kan., in search of their fourth NCAA Championship.
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NCAA Championship Info
Host: Wichita State
Location: Hutchinson, Kansas
Course: Prairie Dunes Country Club
Par/Yardage: 70/6,941
Schedule of Events:
Thursday, May 22: Practice round (9 a.m. Central, 10th tee)
Friday, May 23: First Round (7 a.m. Central, 1st tee)
Saturday, May 24: Second Round (12:20 p.m. Central, 10th tee)
Sunday, May 25: Third Round (TBD)
Monday, May 26: Final Round - Individual Stroke Play [top 40 and ties] (TBD)
Tuesday, May 27: Match Play Quarterfinals and Semifinals (TBD)
Wednesday, May 28: Match Play Finals
Texas Lineup: 1) Beau Hossler, 2) Kramer Hickok, 3) Brax McCarthy, 4) Gavin Hall, 5) Toni Hakula
• Texas Advances to NCAA Championship ... The Longhorns punched their ticket to the upcoming 2014 NCAA Championship after narrowly claiming the fifth spot at the NCAA Auburn Regional with a 54-hole total of 20-over-par 884 (293-300-291) at Auburn University Club. Texas, the overall No. 16 seed in the 2014 NCAA Championship, is making its 28th appearance in the NCAA finals, and its 13th under the direction of head coach John Fields. Texas' ticket to the finals marks its eighth-straight (2007-14) appearance in the national championship, the second-longest active streak behind UCLA's 12-consecutive appearances (2003-14).
• Format … Featuring a new tournament format, 30 teams and six student-athletes – who advanced from NCAA Regional Qualifying – will compete in an individual stroke-play format over 54 holes (Friday-Sunday, May 23-25). Golf Channel's live coverage will begin on Monday, May 26, when the top 40 individuals and ties will compete in the fourth and final stroke-play round to determine the individual national champion. On Tuesday, May 27 (quarterfinals and semifinals) and Wednesday, May 28 (finals), the low eight teams from the 54-hole qualifying will compete in match play competition to determine the team national champion.
The format for stroke play is each team fields five players, with the low four scores each day counting toward the team score. In team match play, each of the five players on a team plays a match against a counterpart on the opposing team. Each individual match is worth a point for his team, and the team with the most points after the five matches are completed advances to the next round.
• Three-time NCAA Champions ... Texas has three NCAA team championships to its credit (1971, 1972, 2012). The Longhorns' '71 and '72 championships were 72-hole stroke play championships, while the 2012 championship was won on the heels of a six-day stretch that included 54 holes of stroke play and three match play contests against Alabama, Oregon and Washington. The Longhorns have advanced to match play in each of the last two years, and twice overall since it was added to the championship format in 2009.
• All-time Texas NCAA Medalists ... Ed White became UT's first NCAA medalist in 1935. Future PGA Tour legends Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite went on to become NCAA individual champions for Texas, as did current PGA Tour veteran Justin Leonard. Crenshaw took medalist honors while helping the Horns to the team title at the 1971 NCAA Championships in Tucson, Ariz. Crenshaw and Kite tied for medalist honors while bringing UT its second consecutive NCAA team trophy to Austin in 1972. Crenshaw completed his NCAA individual medal trifecta in 1973 while helping Texas to third place at the NCAA Championships. Leonard took medalist honors and led Texas to a second-place finish at the 1994 NCAA Championships in McKinney, Texas.
• Familiar Territory for Fields ... Head coach John Fields has led Texas to the NCAA Championship 13 times, including six Top 10 finishes.
• Hossler Leading the Longhorns Down the Stretch ... The 2014 Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year has put together an impressive stretch of three-straight top-10 finishes leading up to his NCAA Championship debut. Freshman Beau Hossler recorded back-to-back ties for third place at the Western Intercollegiate (April 12-13) and Big 12 Championship (April 25-27) before leading the Longhorns with a sixth-place showing at the NCAA Auburn Regional Championship. During the stretch, Hossler has reduced his scoring average to 70.8 strokes per round compared to an average of 72.3 in his first 27 rounds of the season.
• Veteran Experience ... Two Texas players have NCAA Championship experience under their belts. Senior Toni Hakula (2011, 2012, 2013) is making his third appearance on the big stage, while junior Kramer Hickok (2013) is competing in Texas' NCAA Championship lineup for the second consecutive year.
• Last Time at Prairie Dunes (2013) … The Texas Men's Golf team fought off the Oklahoma State Cowboys over the final nine holes at Prairie Dunes Country Club to claim the 2013 Big 12 Men's Golf Championship. Brandon Stone (70-67-73=210, E) became Texas' fourth conference medalist and first in seven years as he finished the weather-shortened tournament three strokes ahead of the Cowboys' Talor Gooch (70-69-74=213).
Stone, a 2013 Ben Hogan Award semifinalist, joined the likes of Texas Exes David Gossett (1999), Jason Hartwick (2004) and Matt Rosenfeld (2006) as Big 12 individual champions.
Texas has won three conference tournaments at Prairie Dunes – 2002, '04 and '13.
• Texas Headlines Big 12 Conference Postseason Honors … The Texas Men's Golf team headlined the 2014 Big 12 Conference postseason awards as freshman Beau Hossler became the fifth-straight Longhorn to claim Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors and head coach John Fields was named Big 12 Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive year. Additionally, senior Toni Hakula and junior Kramer Hickok joined Hossler on the All-Big 12 Team.
• All-American Production ... Head coach John Fields has produced 16 All-Americans at Texas (Matt Bortis, Matt Brost, Brad Elder, Dylan Frittelli, David Gossett, Cody Gribble, Jason Hartwick, Charlie Holland, Bobby Hudson, John Klauk, Lance Lopez, Matthew Rosenfeld, Jordan Spieth, Brandon Stone, Julio Vegas and J.J. Wall) who have earned a total of 25 All-America honors.
• 2013 British Am runner-up finish fuels Hakula's senior season ... Two weeks after a fifth-place finish at the 2013 NCAA National Championship, senior Toni Hakula went on to play on one of the biggest golf amateur stages in the world; The Amateur Championship in Deal, Kent.
With a 288-player field, there was a lot of competition to be in the top 64 (+ ties) to move to match play. After two rounds of stroke play, the field was narrowed down to 73 players. Hakula finished at 4-over 147 and tied for 53rd place.
He won his first round against Swede Niclas Carlsson on the 19th hole. The next day, he won his second round in 20 holes against Grant Forrest from Craigiela. His third round was a 3&2 win against Tom Berry from Wentworth.
Going into his fifth day of play, Hakula kept the ball rolling with a 4&3 victory over Frenchman Paul Barjon in the quarterfinals and a 4&2 triumph over North Foreland's Max Orrin to qualify for the finals.
The bracket broke down so that Hakula would face United Kingdom native Garrick Porteous in the championship, a 36-hole match at Royal Cinque Ports and Prince's. The stakes also included invitations in the 2013 British Open, along with the 2014 Masters and 2014 U.S. Open.
On the morning of the championship, wind gusts were reaching 40 miles per hour and there was a consistent sideways rain all morning long. Hakula and Porteous kept the match close early on. Hakula held the lead through the first few holes, but Porteous turned it around quickly before the ninth hole. By the end of the first round, Hakula was 3-down.
After lunch, the rain had stopped for the start of the second round, but conditions were still gruesome. Porteous was 5-up by the ninth hole and Hakula just could not find a way to sink important putts to fight his way back. Porteous claimed a 6&5 victory over Hakula in the end.
In match play, Hakula defeated a player ranked in the top 20 of the world, two in the top 100 and another in the top 120. Winning these matches gives Hakula assurance and determination while he gets ready for his final season at Texas.
"It hurt to lose the final, but a day after I could really see how big of an accomplishment it really was to be in the final. If someone had told me that I was playing in the final in the beginning of the week it would've been hard to believe. I was confident going in to the week but a lot of things had to go right to make it to the final," Hakula said.
"This gave me a lot of confidence going on and I now know I am capable of doing almost anything and winning any tournament. I know I can win and hopefully this will help me in situations where I am fighting for the win next season," Hakula said. "Also this was lots of good practice for match play to take with me for next year's Nationals."
Field (in order of seeding):
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma State
3. Stanford
4. Georgia Tech
5. California
6. Georgia
7. Washington
8. Illinois
9. Virginia Tech
10. Houston
11. Arkansas
12. UAB
13. Oklahoma
14. Vanderbilt
15. LSU
16. TEXAS
17. Florida State
18. Texas A&M
19. UCLA
20. Southern Cal
21. Auburn
22. South Carolina
23. Oregon
24. SMU
25. Kentucky
26. Kennesaw State
27. Missouri
28. Purdue
29. Georgia State
30. Iowa State