NCAA Men's Golf Championship: 5/29-6/3, Concession GC, Bradenton

[Mama_Bull]

USF is also hosting the event.

USF is paired with UAB and Charlotte 1st Round. Tee time 2 PM.

You can follow the live scoring here:

http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/nonav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=8027

MENS FORMAT May 29- June 3

There will be 30 teams and 6 individuals who will compete in 54 holes of stroke play. Following 54 holes of competition, the top 15 teams and top nine individuals will move onto one additional day of stroke play to determine a 72 hole individual champion. The top eight teams after 72 holes of play will be placed into a bracket with the number one seed playing the number eight seed, the number two playing the number seven seed, the number three playing the number six seed and the number four seed playing the number five seed competing in match play.

Some other links:

Concession GC. Link to tickets can be found here:

http://www.theconcession.com/Events/2015-NCAA-Men-s-Women-s-Championships.aspx

Golf Channel NCAA Blog:

http://golfweek.com/news/2015/may/21/ncaa-college-golf-national-championship-blog/

[charsibb]

Wow, 6 individuals start and 9 move on. Gotta love those odds!!

[NewEnglandBull]

****, that is a lot of golf to play.

[Mama_Bull]

Wow, 6 individuals start and 9 move on. Gotta love those odds!!

Wow, 6 individuals start and 9 move on. Gotta love those odds!!

For those that don't understand, the top individual in the six regionals, whose team did NOT make it to the finals, advanced to the final to play for the individual NCAA golf champion title. After 54 holes, the top nine individuals whose teams did NOT advance, get a chance to continue playing towards the individual title.The original six individuals may or may not be among those final nine.

So, for example, if after 54 holes, USF was not among the top 15 teams, they would be out. However, one or more of the USF players who finished in the top nine of the eliminated teams, would continue to play towards the individual title.

[Sellular1]

How's the weather down in the TPA area? Do you think there is any advantage to us being the last group out?

[DELdaBull]

How's the weather down in the TPA area? Do you think there is any advantage to us being the last group out?

Blazing

[Mama_Bull]

How's the weather down in the TPA area? Do you think there is any advantage to us being the last group out?

 

USF should have an advantage in being able to bear the heat and humidity here better than most teams outside the state.

 

Being in the last group can be advantageous, if our Golf team pays attention to how each hole is playing, especially with the speed and breaks near the cup on each green.

 

The Concession course is considered a big challenge and many of the other teams are starting out somewhat scared playing it. Our biggest advantage is that all the USF players have played it many times and are relatively comfortable there.

 

Look at this tweet by C Kopeka the other day.

 

Chase Koepka @ChaseKoepka  ·  May 23

Love seeing all this talk about how hard The Concession is playing right now!

 

We really are in a good position. I posted a link to a video from the other day in the NCAA regional golf thread where a Golf Channel analyst picks us as the 'surprise' team who can win the championship. 

[Mama_Bull]

USCollege Men

South Florida treads uncharted waters at familiar Concession Club

By Andy Zunz

Thursday, May 28, 2015

One year ago, the formula was in place. The dream season seemed to be coming together for South Florida. The roster contained a mix of consistent veterans and young talent, and the opportunity to host the NCAA Championship was on the horizon.

In June, however, Bulls coach Chris Malloy left the dream scenario for his dream job, taking over at his alma mater, Ole Miss, and leaving South Florida with all of the potential but a question mark at the helm.

Fast forward one year, and South Florida is playing some of the best golf in the country as it prepares to compete in the 2015 NCAA Championship at Concession Golf Club with a marked advantage: local knowledge at a beast of a course.

Chase Koepka

By Tracy Wilcox

Chase Koepka

South Florida did not waste time finding its new leader.

Two weeks after the announcement of Malloy’s departure, Mercer head coach Steve Bradley was in Tampa. It was a bit of a homecoming for Bradley, a Bradenton, Fla., native who graduated from the University of Florida in 1999 and won the Florida State Amateur in 1996, but it was also a tricky situation.

Malloy came to Tampa as a program-builder, and South Florida’s rise in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings during his tenure serves as proof of his success. The Bulls soared from No. 180 to 33 in the rankings during his four-year run. Malloy set up a lot of that success through his relationship with Chase Koepka, a team leader and younger brother of PGA Tour player Brooks Koepka, whom Malloy had coached while an assistant at Florida State.

“I was bummed to see Coach Malloy leave,†said Chase Koepka, a junior from West Palm Beach, “but he left this program in great hands, and for us to get Coach Bradley in here, we didn’t skip a beat. Coach Bradley is the right guy for this job, and it has shown.â€

Year End-of-season ranking Coach

2009-10 180 Jim Fee

2010-11 196 Chris Malloy

2011-12 97 Chris Malloy

2012-13 58 Chris Malloy

2013-14 33 Chris Malloy

2014-15 13 (As of 5/28) Steven Bradley

Watching Malloy leave still was tough for Koepka, but as he and his teammates built a rapport with Bradley, they took the program to new heights. South Florida shattered the previous school record of two victories in a season by winning five times, including its past three events. The team already has four more rounds of par or better this season than the previous record, 13, entering its first NCAA Championship appearance in school history. The Bulls won the American Athletic Conference and New Haven Regional titles this spring.

Much of the success is a result of Bradley’s respect and caution as he took over the program.

“I let the first couple of months play out to see what we had,†said Bradley, whose Bulls won in their first event of the year, the Invitational at the Ocean Course. “I didn’t want to come in and say, ‘This is the way it’s going to be.’ I knew they were talented and thought they had underachieved last year. I wanted to see the reason why.â€

Said Koepka: “A lot of it is getting comfortable with the coaches. It took me a little while to get into a rhythm with Coach Bradley on the golf course, but it comes with time. This spring we’ve done a great job out on the golf course together dissecting holes, and a lot of the guys are getting used to the way he expects things. That’s the way we’re clicking on all cylinders right now.â€

With team leaders such as Koepka and senior Trey Valentine all-in with Bradley’s system, South Florida still needed a few players to emerge to round its team depth.

That’s where Claudio Correa, Rigel Fernandes and Ryan Fricker come into play.

The top and bottom of the Bulls’ starting lineup is separated by only one stroke (71.4 scoring average to 72.4). Four players have won individual titles this season: Correa, Fernandes, Fricker and Koepka.

Correa, a freshman, and Fernandes, a sophomore, peaked early, adjusting quickly to college life and letting their talent show on the course. But it was the late emergence of Fricker, a senior who transferred from Bethune-Cookman last year, that has made South Florida a five-deep team. Fricker played his way onto the team in the spring and since has been a part of four of South Florida’s five wins, including the AAC Championship, in which he medaled.

“(Ryan) was the best player on his team by far, and he came here and realized that this team’s pretty good,†Bradley said. “He had an adjustment issue with dealing with not being the man and the day-in-and-day-out fight to get into the lineup. His work ethic and personality has helped him evolve and back to where he was (at Bethune-Cookman), possibly even a better player.â€

Said Fernandes: “The depth on our team is pretty special. … Every day in practice, you never know who’s going to be the low man, and in qualifying, everybody pushes. It keeps you wanting to get better. There’s no room for complacency on our team, and that has allowed everyone to grow.â€

While the transition to Bradley’s coaching style was important for South Florida’s success – and while the team’s depth is important for match play – the Bulls’ course knowledge will make the rest of the field envious in Bradenton this week.

Rigel Fernandes

By Tim Britt

Rigel Fernandes

Concession proved to be a complete test during the recent NCAA Division I Women’s Championship, which Stanford won.

The course produced a scoring average greater than 78 for the first two days of play, with 58 scores worse than double bogey being recorded during the second round. South Florida players can attest that it’s a tough course. They would know after having played the Jack Nicklaus-Tony Jacklin design about eight times in the past two months, making the hour drive from campus.

“It’s going to be a comfort level for us out there since we’ve seen the course,†Koepka said. “That’s going to be a big advantage for us. It’s one of those courses that the more times you see it, the better off you’ll be. The green complexes are very tough out there, and I think you’ll see scores get lower each day as the teams get comfortable with the course.â€

The Bulls played several rounds of stroke play at Concession for practice or qualifying in the fall and early spring, mixed it up during the past couple of rounds with match play and went out to watch the women play earlier this week. They're looking to follow in the steps of Oklahoma State (2011) and Georgia Tech (2013), which reached the semifinals of match play as host schools.

“Concession is a course you have to think your way around, and we have a huge advantage being the host school since we’ve seen it a few times,†Fernandes said. “There are so many little things on that course that make you appreciate it after you’ve played a few times. There are greens out there that you wonder why there’s a ridge or slope there, and after you’ve played it five or six times you appreciate the design.

“The attention to detail, even for us, is going to be key that week. It’s a great test of golf. It will challenge you mentally as much as it will physically.â€

But playing a course that tough can have its disadvantages in a game that rewards positive thinking.

“Up until recently, it could have been a little bit of a disadvantage in that we hadn’t played particularly well out there,†Bradley said. “The more times we’ve played, the more familiar we’ve become. Our guys have relaxed off the tee. They understand the golf shots in there, and it’s not that intimidating for them anymore.

“I see a golf course that’s a very good golf course, and it will stand up to the best players in the country. Really, it’s up to the NCAA and the course professionals just how difficult they want to make it, because if the wind blows out there, they can bring the field to their knees if they want.â€

South Florida hasn’t needed an inside track or advantage in any of its victories this season, and with or without a berth into match play or a breakthrough sixth victory, the Bulls are focused on building something.

“It’s a great honor to be the first of anything, especially making it to the national championship,†Koepka said. “It’s something special that we’re going to start a trend here, and it makes it even better that it’s on our home turf.â€

Said Bradley: “Some of the better players within the United States and internationally are recognizing what South Florida has accomplished this year and what we’re trying to accomplish long-term. Getting the opportunity to play in the NCAA Championship, play well and get on TV would do a tremendous amount for our golf program and for our university.

“I can’t say we’re playing for all of that; our guys need to just focus on the task at hand. But if we play well, all of those other positives come with it.â€

.http://golfweek.com/news/2015/may/28/ncaa-college-golf-south-florida-concession/

[MaltLiquorBull]

Was on a flight from Evansville, Indiana to the ATL.  While waiting for the delayed flight, I noticed a family all decked out in Illinois gear.  They were listening to a podcast about Illinois golf on a laptop.  I asked them if they were headed to FL, and they said yes, for the golf tourney.  I introduced myself as a USF Bull and welcomed them as the "host" to the tournament.  I put in as many plugs as I could for our Alma Mater.  They were very nice people.  The guy said his grandson would be competing. Just thought it was cool to see people decked out and travelling for golf, and I love any chance I get to talk about USF sports.

[raptorcj]

Year End-of-season ranking Coach

2009-10 180 Jim Fee

2010-11 196 Chris Malloy

2011-12 97 Chris Malloy

2012-13 58 Chris Malloy

2013-14 33 Chris Malloy

2014-15 13 (As of 5/28) Steven Bradley

 

That paints the picture pretty well. This is what you want to see in your programs! I hope they're right, and Bradley keeps building on this direction.