In University of Utah golf coach Garrett Clegg’s mind, an average performance won’t get the job done this week when the Utes compete at the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Austin (Texas) Regional at the University of Texas Golf Club.
The same applies to the BYU golf team, which will join the Utes and 11 other teams at one of the tougher regionals in the championships. The top five teams from each of the six regionals advance to the national championships May 24-29 at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California.
“We have got to play really good golf to get through,” Clegg said. “We can’t just play OK. If we go there and play poorly, we are not going to get through. We can’t just coast through. But it is definitely not out of the question. It is not like we are not capable of it.”
It will be Utah’s third trip to regionals in the past four seasons, and fifth time overall, as the program under Clegg’s direction since 2016 continues its upward climb. In 2022, Utah finished fifth at the Norman (Oklahoma) Regional to advance to nationals for the first time since 1988, which was before the NCAA went to a regional qualifying format.
Having finished 10th at the Pac-12 championships in Carefree, Arizona, in late April, Utah earned the No. 9 seed in the Austin Regional.
“The Pac-12 tournament was really disappointing,” Clegg said. “That was not a good finish by us. We didn’t play very well. But the rest of the spring season was really good. We had some great events.”
Senior Javier Barcos, junior Braxton Watts, sophomore Brandon Robinson and two outstanding freshmen — Gabriel Palacios of Guatemala and Sergio Jimenez of Spain — will represent the team in Austin.
“We put ourselves in a big-time hole because we played so poorly in the fall. We just played bad golf all fall,” Clegg said, explaining the Utes’ national ranking, which is in the 50s. “Our freshmen are great little players, Gabe and Sergio, but they had a tough time adjusting to life here in the U.S.
“The second semester, they have just been huge for us. So the emergence of the freshmen and then Braxton playing incredible at Stanford’s event, and the team playing really well there, has been part of a really good spring.”
Watts, from Farmington, was the medalist at Stanford’s The Goodwin championships, while the Utes finished in second place. Barcos, the Spaniard who lost in a playoff to Zac Blair for the Utah Open title last summer, was an All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection.
“I was expecting us to have a good team this year, yeah. It doesn’t surprise me, because these players are really good players,” Clegg said. “That we played poorly in the fall surprised me. Playing well in the spring doesn’t surprise me. Now that we are playing like we should, it has been a lot more fun for everybody.”
Fifth-ranked Tennessee, No. 8 Arkansas and No. 13 Texas are the top three seeds in Austin, and should be able to advance to nationals, barring something unforeseen.
“Those three are probably (moving on). Not fully untouchable, but it would be a surprise if they don’t get through, which leaves two places for the rest of us,” Clegg said. “There is not a huge, huge difference from (fourth-seeded) Georgia to us, really. We went toe-to-toe with them at Stanford. They beat us by a stroke over those three rounds.
“We have played with and around BYU a couple of times this year. They are one seed ahead of us, the No. 8 seed,” he continued. “So if we go there and we play great, we can definitely finish in the top five in this field.”
Wake Forest is the fifth seed, followed by Notre Dame and UNC Greensboro.
“We have been beating programs that are very high seeds all spring, so it should be fun,” Clegg said. “Our guys are going there with the mindset of stealing one of those spots and upsetting some people that are in front of us.”
BYU hopes to bounce back from disappointing Big 12 finish
BYU is 44th in the Scoreboard Clippd rankings, and enters the regional as the eighth seed and fresh off a disappointing 10th-place finish in the Big 12 championships at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas. It was disappointing because the Cougars had a one-stroke lead after 36 holes, midway through the 72-hole tournament, before faltering mightily the last two days.
“These last two rounds were hard on our players and us as coaches,” BYU director of golf Todd Miller said in a school news release. “We hit wayward tee shots, short-sided ourselves and made some poor decisions. Our freshmen (Cooper Jones and Peter Kim) played some great golf, but it is not too often that your freshmen lead the team in college golf. … We have to pick ourselves up, analyze our play and get ready for regionals.”
BYU is making its 27th regional appearance, and has made trips to the national championship 32 times.
The Cougars have been up and down this spring.
Junior Zac Jones got an individual win in the Arizona National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Arizona. BYU was fourth in that tournament. His brother, Cooper Jones, was medalist at the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational at Silverado Resort in Napa Valley, California, in late March, and the Cougars finished first as well as a team.
“It is great that we get to play two tournaments in a row in the state of Texas,” Miller said. “Our guys know what to expect regarding weather and course conditions. The University of Texas Golf Club is challenging. It is extremely long and has difficult greens. When you combine that with high winds, it tests every aspect of your game. … Our guys will be ready to compete and play determined golf.”
Coincidentally, Cooper Jones received his call for missionary service recently. The freshman will depart for the Peru Trujillo South mission in September. Jones and another BYU golfer, Angus Klintworth, are still in the running for a U.S. Open berth after advancing from local qualifying at Alpine Country Club on April 29. BYU golfer Tyson Shelley qualified for the next round by shooting a round of 68 at The Broadlands Golf Course in Bloomfield, Colorado, on May 9.
BYU’s lineup at the Big 12 championships included the Jones brothers, seniors Max Brenchley and Keanu Akina and Kim, a Skyline High product. Senior Brock Goyen was the traveling substitute. It will remain the same in Austin.
BYU men’s golfer Angus Klintworth earned medalist honors at the U.S. Open local qualifying at Alpine Country Club, while Cooper Jones also advanced to final qualifying for the 2024 U.S. Open on April 29. Tyson Shelley qualified with a round of 68 at The Broadlands Golf Course in Broomfield, Colorado, on May 9.
NCAA Austin Regional Seeding
(National ranking in parentheses)
- Tennessee (5)
- Arkansas (8)
- Texas (13)
- Georgia (20)
- Wake Forest (29)
- Notre Dame (32)
- UNC Greensboro (41)
- BYU (44)
- Utah (54)
- San Jose State (60)
- Grand Canyon (71)
- Arkansas State (90)
- Kansas City (142)