Texas men's golf seeking fourth national title
After advancing past Vanderbilt in the national quarterfinals and Oklahoma State in the semifinals, the Texas Longhorns men’s golf team will compete in the NCAA championship match versus Arizona State on Wednesday afternoon. The Sun Devils are the only team standing in the way of the Longhorn program’s fourth national title.
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Cole Hammer will go out first at 3:35 p.m. central, followed by Parker Coody, Pierceson Coody, Mason Nome, and Travis Vick. Television coverage will be provided by the Golf Channel beginning at 4 p.m. central. Full pairings can be found here. Live stats can be found here.
Texas is seeking to win its second national title in the match-play format era, joining the 2012 championship team anchored by Jordan Spieth.
“This year, we refocused, and then the difficulties with the Coody’s in January, February, and March and it started in December,” Texas head coach John Fields said in a press release. “It just made us all the more appreciative about what we do. The other kids on our team got to play and see what they could do. In the meantime, those guys were working on so much. They came back with a vengeance and added to the energy that Travis, Mason, and Cole have. Now we are here.”
Texas advanced to the semifinals after Parker Coody, Hammer, and Nome won their matches against the Cowboy golf team. Against top-seeded Vanderbilt, Hammer, Vick and Pierceson Coody won their matches, with Nome halving his contest.
“Full circle from three years ago, that was a tough loss to Stanford but these guys have come a long way,” said Hammer. “We’ve been through a lot with Coody’s breaking their arms, really not having a set lineup and this postseason has been different. The guys have been so focused and we’ve all had our eyes on the prize, as cliché as it is, but it’s pretty fun to be a senior and have an opportunity like this tomorrow. It’s crazy to think I’ll only wear burnt orange for one more day, but I wouldn’t want to be wearing it on any other day than the national championship.”
Arizona State is the host institution for this year’s tournament. The final match will take place on the par-70, 7289-yard Raptor Course at Grayhawk with admission open to the public.
Hammer will face Mason Anderson, Parker Coody will face James Leow, Pierceson Coody will face Preston Summerhays, Nome will face David Puig, and Vick will face Cameron Sisk. The Sun Devils are looking to win their third NCAA tournament title, joining titles won in 1990 and 1996. Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson was a part of the 1990 team.
Texas lost match play championship appearances in 2016 to Oregon and 2019 to Stanford.
A national title would be the fourth won by the Longhorn athletic department this academic year along with men’s indoor track, women’s tennis, and rowing.
