Final-round slide costs Michigan State golfers a chance to play in national championship
Bath, Mich. – Michigan State opened the final round of the NCAA men’s Regional Golf Tournament at Eagle Eye Golf Club on Wednesday in fifth-place with a six-stroke lead over Florida for the final qualifying spot in the NCAA men’s golf championship.
Par or better would have earned Michigan State a spot in the NCAA championship. The Spartans fell far short of that mark on a day where anything that could go wrong did with Michigan State shooting 11-over to finish in seventh place out of 13 teams at 1-under for the three-day event.
No. 34 seed Georgia won the Michigan State-hosted regional by eight strokes at 29-under par. Big Ten champion Illinois, the top seed at the regional, placed second (-21) followed by Oregon (-14), Florida (-10), and Texas (-10).
Georgia’s Ben Van Wyk was the regional medalist with a three-day total of 10-under. Van Wyk’s teammate Caleb Manuel was won four players that tied for second at 7-under.
Georgia, Illinois, Oregon, Florida, and Texas advance to play in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ, from May 26-31.
Not only did Michigan State fail to qualify as a team, but the Spartans failed to have any golfers qualify for NCAA Championship as individuals by way of a Top 10 finish.
“You’ve got to play really well for three days and we played really well for one-and-half,” Michigan State golf coach Casey Lubahn said. “I’m disappointed for the guys, but I’m also proud they were in it.
“This wasn’t the best team we’ve had in the last decade and they scrapped to get in it and they put on a show for the hometown crowd. I’m hoping they will see they played with Texas, Illinois and Georgia. We can be one of those schools.”
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Michigan State senior Drew Hackett was the highest-placing Spartan at 1-under to finish No. 20 overall. Hackett was 1-over after 12 holes on Wednesday before carding an eagle on the 591-yard Par-5 fourth. Hackett dropped in a birdie two holes later at the Par-4 sixth.
Junior August Meekhof finished in 25th at even par for the tournament. Like Hackett, Meekhof eagled the Par-5 fourth.
After Hackett and Meekhof both eagled at the fourth, Michigan State moved to 6-under, which was two shots out of fifth at that time. Playing in the group behind Meekhof, Michigan State senior Troy Taylor couldn’t take advantage of a long drive off the tee at the fourth. Taylor pulled his second shot into a hazard on the left at the fourth. That poor second shot resulted in a bogey for Taylor and whatever momentum Michigan State had gained from eagles by Hackett and Meekhof was squashed.
Aside from birdies at No. 3 and No. 10, Taylor struggled on the day with eight bogies. The senior from Ohio began the day firmly in the Top 10 at 5-under. After moving to 6-under with a birdie on his opening hole at No. 10, Taylor bogeyed six of his next eight holes. Taylor finished 1-over par for the tournament.
Michigan State started Wednesday’s round on the back nine and got birdies from Hackett, Bradley Smithson, and Taylor to move from 11-under to 14-under for the tournament. Those three early birdies vaulted Michigan State into third-place ahead of Texas for a brief period.
Then the Spartans suffered from a run of double bogeys. Four doubles on the opening nine proved to be Michigan State’s undoing. Two of those doubles came in back-to-back groups as Meekhof and Ashton McCulloch both found the water around the island green at 17, a 128-yard Par 3.
Michigan State had its best round of the NCAA Regional on Monday firing a 12-under 272.
