Tigers are No. 1 overall seed
As expected, the Alabama and Auburn men’s golf teams find themselves in the NCAA postseason field.
Auburn’s quest for a national title begins at the NCAA Baton Rouge regional as the Tigers are the top seed at LSU’s University Club in the NCAA Championship qualifier set for May 13-15.
Fourteen teams and five individuals are in the three-day stroke-play tournament, hoping to advance to NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. The top five teams and low individual from a non-advancing team will receive bids to the National Championship at the Omni La Costa Champions Course, May 24-31.
“Obviously we’re super excited to be chosen as the overall No. 1 seed,” Tigers head coach Nick Clinard said. “We’ve earned it. It wasn’t given.”
Auburn will field the same six who played at the SEC Championship — seniors J.M. Butler and Alex Vogelsong, juniors Carson Bacha and Brendan Valdes and freshmen Josiah GilbertandJackson Koivun. Vogelsong will begin the week as the sixth reserve player; however, postseason substitution rules will be in effect, allowing for the substitution of any individual into the lineup following the completion of a round.
In its 13 previous tournament berths under Clinard, Auburn has advanced to the NCAA Championship 10 times. Last season, the Tigers advanced from the Auburn Regional to claim its spot at Grayhawk Golf Club and tie the third-best finish in program history at tenth overall. In 2018, Auburn recorded its first ever final four appearance before falling 3-2 in the national semifinals to eventual champion Oklahoma State.
The complete regional field in Baton Rouge this year includes No. 1 Auburn, No. 12 Virginia, No. 14 Texas Tech, No. 24 Oregon, No. 25 Duke, Ohio State, LSU, Louisville, Houston, South Carolina, Lipscomb, Yale, Loyola Maryland and Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Across the state in Tuscaloosa, the ninth-ranked Crimson Tide earned the No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional that will be played at the Finley Golf Club. It’s the 18th time Alabama has played in a regional under coach Jay Seawell and its 26th appearance in school history.
Crimson Tide men head to Chapel Hill
“We are excited to head to Chapel Hill and thankful to the committee for being awarded the No. 2 seed in that regional,” Seawell said. “Our boys look forward to the challenge and are excited for the opportunity. There are a lot of quality golf teams that are going to Chapel Hill, so it will be a great challenge and we look forward to it as we prepare the next couple of weeks.”
North Carolina, ranked fourth nationally, is the Chapel Hill Regional’s top seed. Rounding out the region’s top five seeds are No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 East Tennessee State and No. 5 Northwestern.
The remaining teams in the Chapel Hill Regional include: No. 6 Baylor, No. 7 VCU, No. 8 LMU, No. 9 Long Beach State, No. 10 Clemson, No. 11 Michigan State, No. 12 Ball State and No. 13 Howard. Three regional sites, including the Chapel Hill Regional, have 13 teams and 10 individuals and three have 14 teams and five individuals.
Alabama won the 2023 NCAA Norman Regional to claim the program’s fifth regional championship in program history, which include: 2009 Galloway (N.J.) Regional, 2012 Athens (Ga.) Regional, 2013 Baton Rouge (La.) Regional, 2014 Auburn (Ala.) Regional, 2023 Norman (Okla.) Regional.
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Featured image of Jackson Koivun courtesy of Auburn Athletics
