Men’s Golf finishes 13th at NCAA Championship – University of Texas Athletics

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The Texas Men’s Golf team carded an 8-over-par 296 on Monday to finish in 13th place after the final round of stroke play of the NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa. Sophomore Christiaan Maas again paced the Longhorns with a 1-over 73 in Monday’s final round and tied for 11th in the individual standings with a 72-hole total of even-par 288 (74-71-70-73).

The top eight teams following Monday’s final round of stroke play advanced to the NCAA Match Play Championships. The Longhorns registered a four-round score of 31-over-par 1183 (296-301-290-296) and finished six strokes behind Georgia Tech, who earned the eighth spot at 25-over-par 1177.

During Monday’s round, Texas counted scores from Maas (1-over 73), senior Nathan Petronzio (2-over 74), graduate Brian Stark (2-over 74) and sophomore Keaton Vo (3-over 75). By virtue of his top-15 individual showing, Maas was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team.

The Longhorns recorded their 15th top-15 finish at the NCAA Championship under the direction of 27th-year head coach John Fields. Texas claimed three victories during the 2023-24 season, including the Big 12 Match Play (Oct. 9-11), the Big 12 Championship (April 22-24) and the NCAA Austin Regional (May 13-15). UT’s streak of 17 consecutive NCAA Championship appearances is the longest current streak in NCAA Division I men’s golf.

Illinois earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Match Play quarterfinals with a 72-hole total of 6-under-par 1146 (293-287-282-284). Vanderbilt took second at 10-over-par 1162, while Virginia and North Carolina tied for third at 11-over-par 1163.

Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai claimed the NCAA individual championship with a four-round score of 3-under-par 285 (67-77-70-71). Tai earned a one-stroke victory over a group of six players who all tied for second at 2-under-par 286 and included Tyler Goecke (Illinois), Luke Clanton (Florida State), Jackson Koivun (Auburn), Gordon Sargent (Vanderbilt), Max Herendeen (Illinois) and Ben James (Virginia). Only 10 players among the field of 156 individuals recorded under-par scores over the four rounds of stroke play.

The Lineup

• Sophomore Christiaan Maas carded a 1-over 73 to pace the Longhorns on Monday and finished in a tie for 11th place in the individual standings with a 72-hole total of even-par 288 (74-71-70-73). Starting on hole 10, Maas was 3-under through his opening six holes and registered a total of four birdies (holes 10, 11, 15 and 2) during his final round.
• Graduate Brian Stark fired a 2-over 74 in the final round and tied for 53rd with a four-round score of 11-over-par 299 (75-79-71-74). Stark recorded three birdies (holes 11, 13 and 17) on Monday and was even-par through his first nine holes.
• Sophomore Tommy Morrison registered a 4-over 76 on Monday and tied for 59th with a 72-hole total of 12-over-par 300 (74-76-74-76). Morrison tallied three birdies (holes 10, 5 and 6) during his final round.
• Sophomore Keaton Vo recorded a 3-over 75 in the final round and tied for 67th with a four-round score of 14-over-par 302 (77-75-75-75). Vo made one birdie (hole 2) on Monday.
• Senior Nathan Petronzio posted a 2-over 74 on Monday and tied for 76th with a 72-hole total of 18-over-par 306 (73-82-77-74). Petronzio made four birdies (holes 10, 14, 18 and 5) and was even-par through his first 10 holes during his final round.

Post-round comments from Texas Head Coach John Fields

“You can’t look at this week without looking at the Big 12 Conference Championship and the NCAA (Austin) Regional Championship, two victories coming in here. We brought some momentum, but we didn’t quite have our best stuff. I was thrilled for our team to get here to Omni La Costa and have a chance to compete. I was really pleased and proud of our guys for getting past the first cut (top-15). We’re not going to make that ‘elite eight’ this year, but I think we’ve got a great team coming back next year and I’m looking forward to that.”

“As far as this week, we learned a lot. I told our guys this golf course is setup like a U.S. Open. You’re going to be a better player today than you’ve ever been. I believe that we will come back strong next year and have an opportunity to win, and I’m looking forward to that.”

“I’m very appreciative of these guys. Our graduate transfer Brian Stark from Oklahoma State did a great job and has a lot of heart and desire. Nathan Petronzio, graduate transfer from SMU, brought a lot to our team in terms of strength and desire. Both Brian and Nathan are really good players. With our sophomores of Tommy Morrison, Keaton Vo and Christiaan Maas, I can’t say enough about those guys. This is better than we did last year (19th place) but not as good as we wanted to do. But they’ve got a couple more years to get this thing right, and I think they’ll be ready to do that next year. I need to include Jack Gilbert who did a great job as our sixth man. He didn’t see any action, but he proved he was a great guy who was here for every member of this team in any way that he could. Plus, he’s a darn good player.”

“I’m very appreciative of the Rowling family, Omni La Costa, David Smallwood, Dustin Irwin, Craig Martin, Michelle Zwirek, Gavin Parker and there’s so many people to name. Everybody put their heart and soul into this (hosting the NCAA Championship) and it showed. This golf course is the real deal. The Gil Hanse design is unbelievable. I love this place, the weather and the people, and it’s nice to bring a little Texas to California.”