STILLWATER, Oklahoma – Augusta’s Broc Everett claimed individual medalist honors Monday at the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff against Auburn’s Brandon Mancheno.
“I really stayed consistent out there – I didn’t get too high or too low,” Everett said. “I got off to a good start, then got an unfortunate break and made bogey on four, but I knew I just needed to keep plugging away. I couldn’t get too aggressive on this course. You have to keep it between the trees and in the fairways. Par is a great score on this course. We just kept hitting good spots and then we were able to finish it off.”
RELATED: Latest DI championship updates | Leaderboard | Quarterfinals pairings
Everett and Mancheno finished the final round of stroke play knotted at the top of the leaderboard after the latter birdied No. 18 and the former parred the hole later in the evening. Their 7-under 281 sets the course record for a 72-hole score at Karsten Creek.
In the playoff, the left-handed Mancheno got up and down to par the hole and put the pressure on the Augusta senior. Everett was up to the task though, as he sunk a 15-foot birdie putt from the back of the 18th green to clinch the individual national championship.
All smiles for @aug_golf senior @brocandroll10! Your 2018 NCAA National Champion! pic.twitter.com/sHv7FuhhqY
— AugustaJags (@AugustaJags) May 29, 2018
“Coach and I picked the same target as the first time that we hit off the tee,” Everett said of his approach shots on the 18th hole. “It wasn’t too unfamiliar for me and I had a good feel for where that pin was up there and I was able to hit a good wedge.”
Everett entered Monday’s final round three shots back of then-leader Bryson Nimmer of Clemson. He was one of the field’s most consistent players throughout the week, posting 70 in each of the first three rounds and a 71 to close on Sunday.
On the team leaderboard, tournament hosts and top-ranked Oklahoma State finished eight shots ahead of any other team in the field. OSU’s 1152 is a Karsten Creek 72-hole record and slots the Cowboys as the No. 1 seed in the match play portion of the tournament.
Even-par 72 in tough scoring conditions from @krisventura95 helped #okstate secure the top seed for match play at #ncaagolf pic.twitter.com/FjI2IFZsXv
— Oklahoma State Golf (@OSUCowboyGolf) May 29, 2018
“It was a great day out there,” OSU coach Alan Bratton said. “Karsten Creek had a lot more teeth today. The greens dried out. It was nice to have the golf course overall dry. Fairways were much drier. Greens were smoother, faster, firmer, so it was a good test. Plus, there was a little bit of wind. This place plays a lot different with the wind. Really pleased with the day. We showed a lot of fight, especially on the back nine. The goal for the week was to finish on top of the stroke play. That was the first goal, so we got that taken care of, now we move on to match play.”
WATCH: Highlights from Day 4 of the DI men's golf championship
OSU had three golfers finish in the top 20 individually, with freshman Matthew Wolff leading the pack with a 3-under 285 for the week. Wolff finished tied for seventh, while sophomore Viktor Hovland recorded a top-15 finish at 1-under par and freshman Austin Eckroat slotted in at 1-over par to finish tied for 19th.
The Cowboys will match up with No. 8 Texas A&M in the match-play quarterfinals tomorrow morning. The other morning matchups include: No. 2 Duke vs. No. 7 Texas, No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 6 Alabama and No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Auburn.
Match-play quarterfinals are set to begin at 8 a.m. ET Tuesday, with the winners advancing to the semifinals that are scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET.
