Utah’s men’s golf team fell just short in its bid to qualify for the NCAA Championships on Wednesday in central Washington.
The Utes had their worst round of the three-round NCAA Regionals on Wednesday and fell into a tie for seventh place with Washington at Tumble Creek Club in Cle Elum, Washington. The top five teams from each of six regionals advance to nationals.
“It was a tough day for the team, but you learn a lot from these moments and today will be a hard one for the guys.” — Utah coach Garrett Clegg
“It was a tough day for the team, but you learn a lot from these moments and today will be a hard one for the guys,” Utah coach Garrett Clegg said in a school news release. “I am really proud of how the team pushed forward all week long. Overall, it has been a great season, and I am excited for the future of our golf program. Great things are ahead.”
Utah entered the day tied for fifth with Pepperdine, but while the Waves shot 1-under to grab the fourth spot, the Utes shot 15-over and finished at 15-over 867. East Tennessee State (-14) won the regional, while San Francisco (-4) was second and Wake Forest (-2) was third. Florida jumped past Utah and Denver to get the fifth spot.
But the day was not a total loss for the Utes.
Tristan Mandur, a junior from Mill Bay, British Columbia, Canada, shot a 71 Wednesday and tied for fourth with Archie Davies of ETSU. Mandur advances to nationals as an individual and will compete for medalist honors May 28 through June 2 at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“I’m extremely excited for Tristan,” Clegg said. “What an incredible week he has had, an amazing accomplishment to qualify for the NCAA Championships.”
Mandur shot a three-round total of 6-under 207 in his best tournament as a collegian and advanced because he was the best finisher on a nonadvancing team. He is the third Utah player to qualify as an individual since 1990 and second in the past three seasons, joining 2019 qualifier Kyler Dunkle 2006 qualifier Dustin Pimm.
Wednesday was a bad day for all four Pac-12 teams in the 14-team field, as Oregon, Arizona and Washington all joined Utah in failing to advance.
For Utah, Mitchell Schow, Javier Barcos and Jesper von Reedtz all shot 76, while Blake Tomlinson shot 77.
The Utes were playing in an NCAA golf regional for the first time since 1992. The tie for seventh is the highest-ever finish for the program. It placed 15th in 1992 and 17th in 1991.
Other locals at NCAA Regionals
Also at Tumble Creek, BYU’s Carson Lundell shot a 70 on Wednesday and jumped 21 places into a tie for 33rd place.
Utah Valley’s Gabe Lysen, a graduate student, shot a 71 for the second-straight day and placed 18th at 1-over 214.
Southern Utah’s Jake Vincent shot a 73 and tied for 50th.
At Tallahassee, Florida, Georgia Tech golfer Connor Howe, an Ogden native who prepped at Weber High, shot a noncounting 74 for the Yellow Jackets Wednesday to finish in a tie for 21st place individually at 215 (-1). Tech placed third in the regional to advance to Scottsdale.