The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championship
No. 5 Men's Golf preview: NCAA Championships
05.22.2019 | Men's Golf
The Longhorns begin play on Friday, May 24 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
2019 NCAA Men's Golf Championship Media Supplement
No. 5 Texas Men's Golf at the 2019 NCAA Championships
When: Friday, May 24 – Wednesday, May 29
Format: Four rounds of stroke play, 18 holes each day (Friday thru Monday); Low 15 teams advance to Monday's final round of stroke play; Low 8 teams advance to Match Play; Match Play Quarterfinals and Semifinals (Tuesday); Match Play Championship (Wednesday)
Where: Blessings Golf Club (Fayetteville, Ark.)
Course Info: Par-72; 7,501 yards
Television: Golf Channel
Tournament Notes
Texas at the NCAA Championship: Texas is the No. 5 seed in the NCAA Championships. The Longhorns are making their 13th consecutive and 68th all-time NCAA Championship appearance. UT has claimed three NCAA team titles in program history (1971, 1972 and 2012).
13 Straight: UT's streak of 13 consecutive NCAA Championship appearances is the longest current streak in NCAA Division I men's golf. Here's a look at the longest active NCAA Championship appearances entering the 2019 NCAAs.
|
Number of Consecutive NCAA Champ Appearances |
School |
|
13 |
TEXAS |
|
12 |
Illinois |
|
9 |
Oklahoma |
|
8 |
Auburn |
|
7 |
Oklahoma State |
The Texas Lineup:
1) Cole Hammer (Fr., 69.30)
2) Pierceson Coody (Fr., 71.10)
3) Steven Chervony (Sr., 71.00)
4) Parker Coody (Fr., 71.50)
5) Spencer Soosman (Jr., 73.10)
Advancing to Match Play: Not only has Texas been a consistent force in advancing to the NCAA Championships, the Longhorns have produced solid results while at the national championship. In the last seven years (dating back to the 2012 NCAA Championships), UT has advanced to the Match Play quarterfinals stage (final eight teams) a total of five times. Texas and Illinois are the only schools to advance to Match Play at least five times in the last seven years.
|
NCAA Match Play Appearances in Last 7 Years (2012-18) |
School |
|
5 (2012-13-15-16-18) |
TEXAS |
|
5 (2013-14-15-16-17) |
Illinois |
|
4 (2012-13-14-18) |
Alabama |
Last Time Out: Texas advanced to the NCAA Championship by posting a 20-stroke victory at the NCAA Austin Regional (May 13-15). The Longhorns recorded a 54-hole score of 25-under-par 827 (278-274-275) at the UT Golf Club. TCU was second at five-under par 847, and Clemson took third at one-under-par 851. Senior Steven Chervony and freshman Cole Hammer shared co-medalist honors with TCU's Stefano Mazzoli at nine-under-par 204.
Depth on Display at NCAA Austin Regional: Only 15 individuals in the 75-player field at the NCAA Austin Regional finished below par in the 54-hole tourney. Texas had four players among those individuals. All five Longhorn players finished in the top 20 in the individual standings.
Hammer Time: Freshman Cole Hammer leads the Longhorns with a 69.30 stroke average while competing in 10 events (30 rounds) this season. Hammer has tied for first three times this year (Southern Highlands Collegiate, Lamkin Classic and NCAA Austin Regional). He has finished in the top 10 in each of his eight tournament appearances this spring, including a streak of four-consecutive top-5 showings entering the NCAA Championship (tie 5th at Augusta Haskins Award Invitational, 2nd at ASU Thunderbird Invitational, tie 3rd at Big 12 Championship and tie 1st at NCAA Austin Regional.
Not Bad for Starters: Cole Hammer has had quite the year, dating back to this past summer prior to enrolling at Texas. He won the 2018 Western Amateur, claimed co-medalist honors at the 2018 U.S. Amateur and advanced to the semifinals at the 2018 U.S. Amateur. Hammer was the 2018 U.S. Four Ball Amateur Champion and was selected to the U.S. World Amateur Team that competed in Dublin, Ireland from Sept. 5-8.
Senior Leadership: The lone senior in the Texas lineup, Steven Chervony ranks second on the team with a 71.00 stroke average while competing in all 11 events (33 rounds) this season. He has posted four Top 10 finishes this year, including a tie for first at the NCAA Austin Regional with a 54-hole score of 9-under-par 204 (72-66-66). This marked his first career collegiate victory. Chervony, who has earned a degree in Economics with a minor in Business, will miss his graduation ceremony on Friday while he plays the first round of the NCAA Championship.
The Coody Twins: Freshman Pierceson Coody is third on the team with a 71.10 stroke average while competing in 10 events (30 rounds). Twin brother Parker Coody is fourth on the squad with a 71.50 stroke average while competing in eight events (24 rounds). Pierceson, the 2018 Byron Nelson Junior Champion, has posted five Top 10 showings this year, including a season-best tie for fourth place at the Lamkin Classic. Parker, the 2017 Texas 6A High School champion, has recorded five Top 20 finishes this year, including a season-best tie for fourth place at the Southern Highlands Collegiate.
Steady Soosman: Junior Spencer Soosman has posted a 73.10 stroke average while competing in 10 events (30 rounds) this season. He has recorded three Top 25 finishes this year, including a tie for 20th at the NCAA Austin Regional with a four-over-par 217 (75-68-74). His season-best showing was a tie for 10th place at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational with a five-under-par 211 (69-70-72).
Previous NCAA Championship Experience: Despite having one of the younger lineups at the NCAA Championships with three freshmen, one junior and one senior, the Longhorns do have some prior experience at NCAAs. Both Steven Chervony and Spencer Soosman have been in the UT lineup at the NCAA Championships in each of the last two years, as Texas finished 12th in 2017 and tied for fifth last year (lost to Duke 3-2 in match play quarterfinals). At the 2017 NCAA Championships, Chervony placed 77th at 17-over-par 305 (75-77-75-78) and Soosman finished in a tie for 81st place at 25-over-par 313 (77-74-79-81). In the 2018 NCAA Championships, Soosman tied for 52nd place at 11-over-par 299 (76-75-76-72) and Chervony finished in a tie for 69th place at 16-over-par 304 (75-73-80-76).
Previous NCAA Match Play Success: Both Steven Chervony and Spencer Soosman have prior experience in NCAA Match Play competition. During last year's 3-2 quarterfinal loss to Duke, Chervony and Soosman provided the two points for the Longhorns. Chervony defeated Evan Katz by a 3&2 score, while Soosman topped Chandler Eaton by a 4&3 margin.
The Head Coach: John Fields is concluding his 22nd season as the head men's golf coach at The University of Texas. He has led the Longhorns to 18 NCAA Championship appearances in his 22 seasons. Under Fields' leadership, UT has posted eight Top-5 NCAA team finishes, including the 2012 NCAA title. Prior to his time at Texas, Fields led the University of New Mexico to nine NCAA Championship appearances in 10 seasons (1988-97).
Players Mentioned
