LAS VEGAS- The Paiute Golf Resort played host to the Fall 2017 NCCGA Nationals-- the largest college golf tournament in the country on December 2nd & 3rd. Over 65 teams were represented, accounting for 350 total players in the field. Despite the extreme winds and a canceled second round of play, it was yet another successful championship with a lot of great play and moments throughout the tournament weekend.
Jack Hiemenz fires a practice round best 66 with a triple bogey
Prior to the official kick-off of the tournament weekend, many teams were able to get out to the Paiute courses for practice rounds during on Friday. 18Birdies held a special practice round competition for those keeping scores in the 18Birdies app. Jack Hiemenz of Arizona State won the top prize carding an impressive 66 with 7 birdies, an eagle, a triple bogey and only 25 putts. Legit. Jack's Friday 18Birdies scorecard is pictured above.
Nationals Kick-off: Careers in golf Networking event
Official tournament festivities kicked off Friday night at the Sante Fe Station Hotel and Casino. Players partook in the first-ever NCCGA Careers in Golf Networking Event, where students were able to meet and informally interview with some of the top golf companies in the industry. Employers such as the USGA, Topgolf, the Golf Channel, CaddieNow and Billy Casper Golf were all in attendance.
National Championship Summary
The highly touted National Championship field lived up to the hype this year as we saw some of the best scores in NCCGA history. Between the two courses (Wolf and Snow Mountain) 13 players shot under par in round 1. The first round of play would ultimately determine our National Championship winner because of round 2 being canceled due to extreme winds.
Since the Championship was played on two different courses co-champions had to be named; Arizona State University and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities each took home champion honors. Arizona State backed up their #1 national ranking by firing an NCCGA single-day team record of 356 (-4). On the Wolf Course, Minnesota shot a 369 to beat out the next closest team (Alabama) by 1 stroke. Medalist honors went to Michael Hodgins of the University of Florida with an impressive round of 67 (-5). For full player and team results, please visit our Championship leaderboard.
FULL SCORING BREAKDOWN ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE
National Invitational Summary
Clemson grabbed champion honors in the inaugural National Invitational, they were led by a 75 from Christopher Sells and a 76 from Connor Blackwelder. Clemson also counted a 77, 78 and 79 giving them a first day total of 385, giving them a three shot victory over Arizona State (B). Robert Morris, GAA Carlsbad and New Hampshire rounded out the top 5 for the invitational. Clemson's victory guarantees them a spot in the National Championship next semester.
Brian Blessing (GAA Carlsbad) and Andrew Barone (GAA Myrtle Beach) fired the low tournament rounds with a pair of 71’s, Brian won the tie-breaker and took medalist honors. For full player and team results, please visit our Invitational leaderboard.
FULL SCORING BREAKDOWN ON THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE
Sponsors Corner
Smylie Kaufman putting contest and Saturday night party
All players received a sleeve of Srixon Nationals balls. Srixon / Cleveland also helped sponsor the Saturday night party at Paiute. Players were able to try out new clubs, wedges and putters and one lucky player had the chance to compete against PGA Pro Smylie Kaufman in a putting contest, ultimately Smylie won the competition.
The Golf Channel / GolfNow were amazing contributors on Saturday night, as well. The company provided food and music for all of the players and continued to talk about working in golf beyond college. The company was also a large presence at the Careers in Golf Networking Event on Friday evening.
Saturday Raffle: Two club golfers are headed to Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday is always supporting our club golfers. They generously are paying the way for two players to compete in our Spring Break Open in 2018, these students were selected during the Nationals raffle on Saturday night. An awesome prize for two club golfers.
Saturday Raffle: Accuracy matters
GolfBuddy has supported our club golfers throughout the early, especially our leaders as all Regional Coordinators were given LR7 Rangefinders for all of their hard work and dedication. Similarly, another club golfer received a top of the line Rangefinder on Saturday nights raffle. GolfBuddy is making the NCCGA more accurate every semester.
Surviving the elements:
ProQuip not only supported our Saturday raffle to give some players awesome outerwear, but also provided protective gear for the NCCGA staff and student leaders. With the tough wind elements on Sunday they certainly came in handy! ProQuip is a dedicated sponsor that provides awesome deals to our price conscious college students.
Nationals best hats yet
All players received custom Imperial Headware. The unique hats designs were provided for both the championship and invitational. Every year it seems like our imperial hats keep getting better, we think these were the best ones yet. We'd highly recommend using them for your custom hat designs.
Fueling up on the course
Chef's Cut Real Jerky provided all 350 club golfers with their newer jerky product to help fuel players throughout the weekend. These high protein snacks are perfect what the players need during a long tournament. Chef's Cut helps to support all of our local tournaments. Robert Morris University and Marrix Bel (Texas A&M) were this year's "A Cut Above"participants in our championship.
In the same breath, SCNS provided all players with their new sports bar products. Similarly players love these and are able to energize at all of their tournaments, not just nationals. Additionally Chef's Cut and SCNS support club golfers throughout the year with great discounts on their products.
Of course this is just a fraction what all of these companies do to help us. We can't put on these great championships without our sponsors and we appreciate all of the support.
SNOW MOUNTAIN- Field Scoring
WOLF COURSE- Field Scoring
SUN MOUNTAIN- Field Scoring
