Thursday, May 16
TBD
All Day
University of San Francisco
at
NCAA Regional Tournament
The Scarlet Course will play host to the Columbus Regional beginning on Thursday.
USF Faces Stiff Test at Columbus Regional
5/14/2013 8:45:00 AM | Men's Golf
Dons hope for top-five finish and a spot in the NCAA Championship field
Championship Central | Live Scoring
SAN FRANCISCO -- USF's men's golf team has been focused on one goal all season – advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history.
USF will take the first steps towards reaching its ultimate goal on Thursday when the Dons open play at the Columbus (Ohio) Regional, which will be held on the highly-regarded Scarlet Course. The low five teams from each of the six regionals will earn spots in the NCAA finals which will be contested at the Capital City Club (Crabapple Course) in Atlanta, May 28-June 2.
USF is seeded 10th in the regional, which includes teams from (in order of seeding) New Mexico, Stanford, Auburn, South Carolina, Missouri, UNLV, Texas Tech, Chattanooga, Georgia Southern, Virginia, Charlotte and Valparaiso.
New Mexico, champions of the Mountain West Conference, is the highest-ranked team in the field, checking in at No. 5 in both the Golfweek.com and Golfstat.com polls.
The Dons will tee-off at 9:10 a.m. ET on Thursday and will be paired with Virginia and Charlotte for the first 18 holes. Teams will be repaired based on scores for the final two rounds.
Head coach Rich Yokota is expected to start a lineup consisting of Cory McElyea, Jobim Carlos, Taylor Travis, Sebastian Crookall-Nixon and Alika Bell.
USF is making its third straight and fifth overall trip to regionals, but has never advanced to the finals. Last year, the Dons, seeded 11th at the Stanford Regional, led the field after the first round before ultimately tying for seventh, four strokes out of the coveted fifth spot.
Travis and Carlos are the only players on the squad with past experience in regional competition. Travis tied for 15th at the Stanford Regional last year and finished 24th at the San Diego Regional as a sophomore in 2011. Carlos tied for 44th at the Stanford Regional following rounds of 70, 71 and 74.
Yokota doesn't down play experience and lessons learned as being a factor for the Dons success this week.
“Experience is a factor, as much for the team as individuals. The fact that this is our third consecutive regional brings some comfort level. We haven't played our best golf at any of the past three regionals which I think has made our guys a little hungrier to step up this year.
“If we learned anything from last year it's to stay aggressive and free-wheel it. We backed up on day two last year and that was the difference.”
Yokota says the team welcomes the challenge presented by the Scarlet Course, one of the brutes of all of the regional sites.
“It's a long, tough golf course which I think might favor us a bit. We drive the ball very well and seem to play better on tougher courses. We're hoping for some tough conditions similar to what we see here on a regular basis. The course really sets up for some good ball-striking.”
USF has recorded seven top-five finishes in its 11 events this season, including a second place finish at the West Coast Conference Championships, where the Dons finished two back of Saint Mary's. Travis leads the team in stroke average at 72.1 and has been the Dons top finisher in three events, all coming during the fall season.
McElyea, Carlos and Crookall-Nixon have been the team's low-man in at least two events this year, which speaks to the depth of this year's squad.
“It just takes a couple of guys to get going and that's half of your counts right there. They are all competitive kids. We're not talking about finishing in the top five. We want to win the golf tournament. Once we get back there, our focus will be on the golf course.”
About the Scarlet Course
The Scarlet Course is rated as one of the top collegiate courses in the country and has played host to a record 10 men's National Championship events, most recently in 2002, and several U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur qualifiers. Designed by world-renowned golf course architect Alister MacKenzie, the Scarlet was completed in 1938 under the direction of Perry Maxwell. In 2005 and '06, Jack Nicklaus headed a major overhaul of the Scarlet Course, restoring the layout to much of its original design. The course was also lengthened to more than 7,400 yards and the par was changed to 71.
SAN FRANCISCO -- USF's men's golf team has been focused on one goal all season – advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history.
USF will take the first steps towards reaching its ultimate goal on Thursday when the Dons open play at the Columbus (Ohio) Regional, which will be held on the highly-regarded Scarlet Course. The low five teams from each of the six regionals will earn spots in the NCAA finals which will be contested at the Capital City Club (Crabapple Course) in Atlanta, May 28-June 2.
USF is seeded 10th in the regional, which includes teams from (in order of seeding) New Mexico, Stanford, Auburn, South Carolina, Missouri, UNLV, Texas Tech, Chattanooga, Georgia Southern, Virginia, Charlotte and Valparaiso.
New Mexico, champions of the Mountain West Conference, is the highest-ranked team in the field, checking in at No. 5 in both the Golfweek.com and Golfstat.com polls.
The Dons will tee-off at 9:10 a.m. ET on Thursday and will be paired with Virginia and Charlotte for the first 18 holes. Teams will be repaired based on scores for the final two rounds.
Head coach Rich Yokota is expected to start a lineup consisting of Cory McElyea, Jobim Carlos, Taylor Travis, Sebastian Crookall-Nixon and Alika Bell.
USF is making its third straight and fifth overall trip to regionals, but has never advanced to the finals. Last year, the Dons, seeded 11th at the Stanford Regional, led the field after the first round before ultimately tying for seventh, four strokes out of the coveted fifth spot.
Travis and Carlos are the only players on the squad with past experience in regional competition. Travis tied for 15th at the Stanford Regional last year and finished 24th at the San Diego Regional as a sophomore in 2011. Carlos tied for 44th at the Stanford Regional following rounds of 70, 71 and 74.
Yokota doesn't down play experience and lessons learned as being a factor for the Dons success this week.
“Experience is a factor, as much for the team as individuals. The fact that this is our third consecutive regional brings some comfort level. We haven't played our best golf at any of the past three regionals which I think has made our guys a little hungrier to step up this year.
“If we learned anything from last year it's to stay aggressive and free-wheel it. We backed up on day two last year and that was the difference.”
Yokota says the team welcomes the challenge presented by the Scarlet Course, one of the brutes of all of the regional sites.
“It's a long, tough golf course which I think might favor us a bit. We drive the ball very well and seem to play better on tougher courses. We're hoping for some tough conditions similar to what we see here on a regular basis. The course really sets up for some good ball-striking.”
USF has recorded seven top-five finishes in its 11 events this season, including a second place finish at the West Coast Conference Championships, where the Dons finished two back of Saint Mary's. Travis leads the team in stroke average at 72.1 and has been the Dons top finisher in three events, all coming during the fall season.
McElyea, Carlos and Crookall-Nixon have been the team's low-man in at least two events this year, which speaks to the depth of this year's squad.
“It just takes a couple of guys to get going and that's half of your counts right there. They are all competitive kids. We're not talking about finishing in the top five. We want to win the golf tournament. Once we get back there, our focus will be on the golf course.”
About the Scarlet Course
The Scarlet Course is rated as one of the top collegiate courses in the country and has played host to a record 10 men's National Championship events, most recently in 2002, and several U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur qualifiers. Designed by world-renowned golf course architect Alister MacKenzie, the Scarlet was completed in 1938 under the direction of Perry Maxwell. In 2005 and '06, Jack Nicklaus headed a major overhaul of the Scarlet Course, restoring the layout to much of its original design. The course was also lengthened to more than 7,400 yards and the par was changed to 71.
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