A new regional champion was crowned at this week’s NCAA West Golf Championship, hosted by Dixie State University at The Ledges Golf Club in St. George, Utah.
The tournament consisted of 28 teams – 20 of which qualified as teams and 8 players who qualified individually.
Advancing from here to the National Championship in South Carolina next week are the top 4 teams and top 2 individuals. This weeks field was full of star-studded power like those of Western Washington University ranked 4 in the country, and Chico State University ranked 5th in the country. The CCAA conference had 6 out of 9 teams in the conference competing here this week.
The Ledges Golf Club, a 72.7 rated, the 7,100-yard Golf course was no easy task this week with wind gusts getting up to 30 mph and greens rolling 12.5 on the stimpmeter.
Hosting team, Dixie State headline the tournament and went on to win the West Regional Golf Championship by four, shooting 17 under par.
[su_quote cite=”Senior Captain, Nick Britt”]”We had the home field advantage this week and we used that to our advantage, I couldn’t be happier that the team stepped up this week and got the win, now our focus moves towards Nationals.”[/su_quote]
Finishing in a close 2nd was UC San Diego, they ended up three shots behind Dixie State finishing at 14 under.
UC San Diego’s #1 player Hayden Hui said “we all really put our games together this week, we know we were underdogs, but to finish 2nd and be heading to Nationals is a huge accomplishment for this team. I am very proud to share this moment with the four other players on the team.”
Hayden Hui also ended up finishing 2nd individually. Also advancing to Nationals are Cal State Monterey Bay shooting 3 under par, and Sonoma State University finishing at 2 under par. Chico St and Western Washington, the two favorites in the event finished 6th and 16th ending their season.
Chase Carlson from Colorado Christian who came as an individual, won the event shooting rounds of 67-68-69 with a total of 12 under par.
[su_quote cite=” Chase Carlson”]”It feels great to win this week, it’s definitely the biggest win in my college career, and I’m glad my season isn’t over just yet. I wish my team was here to enjoy this win with me, but I’m not gonna complain. I’m happy with where my game is located and excited to be heading to South Carolina.”[/su_quote]
Chase will advance to Nationals along with Josh McCollum from Chico St shooting rounds of 71-72-66, a total of 7 under par. Other notable names that finished near the top were Adam Navigato of UC San Diego shooting 6 under par, Tristan Gardner of Dixie State shooting 6 under par, and his teammate Spencer Wallace at 6 under par as well.
In years past, Cal State Monterey Bay and Sonoma State have had success at the national level. Sonoma State won the national championship in 2009 and in 2010 finishing fourth. In 2011, Monterey Bay won the national championship and have advanced to the match play part of the tournament in 2013 and 2014 as well. They are no stranger to the big stage. The national championship will be held at Glade Springs in Daniels, West Virginia at Cobb Course May 20-24. The Cobb course is a 7,200-yard course with a rating of 74.5 difficulties.
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