BRADENTON, Fla. -- An exciting day at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships ended with eight teams still standing Monday, as well as with an individual champion crowned.
SMU’s Bryson DeChambeau capped off a four-round score of 280 (-8) at the par-72 Concession Golf Club with a final round of 71 (-1), edging Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan by a stroke to become the NCAA’s individual national champion.
DeChambeau’s winning stroke came on the 17th hole as he birdied the par 5 to shoot back below par before two-putting for par on 18. SMU’s ace then had to sit in the clubhouse to watch the final six holes of his competitors before clinching the title.
“My stomach was churning the whole time, it was difficult,” DeChambeau said of his wait. “Luckily I didn’t have to go into a playoff.”
There were no playoffs in the team cut either, as the field of eight was decided in regulation. Illinois clinched the top spot for Tuesday’s match play quarterfinals, shooting 282 (-6) on the final day of stroke play to edge Vanderbilt by two strokes, and Georgia/Texas by three.
The Illini will face off against eighth-seeded UCLA at 7:50 a.m. on Tuesday as the Bruins topped Georgia Tech by a stroke to clinch the final match play spot.
Vanderbilt and seventh-seeded LSU will battle in one of the 7 a.m. matchups, with third-seeded Georgia taking on sixth-seed USF beginning on hole No. 10, also at 7 a.m. Fourth-seeded Texas will face fifth-seed Southern California at 7:50 a.m. to round out the pairings.
