Week 2 Preview
Week 1 of the NCCGA is in the books. Tulsa took home Team of the Week honors with their impressive victory in the Ozark region, winning by 8 strokes. Back-to-back national champs Georgia squeaked by in the South region winning by just 1 stroke over Alabama. Lee Brooks of Alabama takes NCCGA player of the week honors after firing a 2 day score of 141 (-3.) The Twin Cities Region saw some incliment weather forcing some of the field to play 36 holes on Sunday. In the end, all players were able to finish and the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities took home the glassware winning by a whopping margin of 27 strokes. We look forward to the scores of Week 2 as we have 8 regions that will take to the course. See student leader picks at the bottom of this article for team favorites going into the weekend.
Colonial Region
Liberty was able to qualify for nationals last spring for the first time in school history, after winning both regional tournaments. Liberty captured a top 10 finish in Hot Springs, led by Austin Northern’s top 20 individual finish. They will return six of the eight players who made the trip to Arkansas making them a definite favorite this semester. James Madison, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Old Dominion all were able to break 400 in at least one of the rounds this past spring; showing there are plenty of teams capable of winning this weekend. This weekend's tournament will take place in Amherst, Virginia at Poplar Grove Golf Club with projected temperatures in the mid 80’s.
Desert Region
Grand Canyon University finally broke through this past spring and qualified for nationals, after falling just short in past seasons. The Lopes took advantage of their trip to Arkansas, finishing just two shots behind the champs, Georgia. Zach Capel led GCU with a top five individual finish, which included an impressive opening bogey free round of 69. It was the second spring in a row that Capel grabbed all tournament team honors. GCU returns five of the eight players that were a part of their nationals roster. The three new golfers that they added just shot rounds of 67-70, 70-73 and 72-72 in tryouts over the past few weeks. GCU is not just the favorite in the Desert Region this spring but potentially to win the National Championship. Arizona State and GAA Chandler come into the weekend as under dogs but both are still very good teams. In the spring both ASU and GAA averaged rounds well under 400, expect to see at least one of the teams in Vegas along with GCU. This weekend's tournament will take place at Ocotillo Golf Resort, in Chandler.
Indiana Region
This past spring Notre Dame and Indiana each won a tournament and were the runner up in the other. Notre Dame won the region on the tiebreaker by five strokes, giving them the automatic bid to nationals. Indiana ended up receiving a wild card bid as they were ranked #33 in the NCCGA. Notre Dame ended up finishing in 7th place with Indiana in 20th. Purdue will also be a team to watch this fall. Athough they haven’t been to nationals since 2015, they have played some great tournament golf. Butler, DePauw, and Cardinal State will round out the region. This weekend's event will be played at Harrison Hills Country Club in Attica. The last two times the club hosted, Indiana (2016) and Purdue (2015) came away with tournament titles.
Midwest Region
Michigan enters the fall as the clear favorite in the Midwest, after claiming the previous four regional tournament titles and finishing 11th and 12th at the last two national championships. Michigan has qualified for nationals in every semester but one since 2014. Though Michigan has had a very impressive run, both Ferris State and Michigan state have claimed tournament titles and made trips to nationals over the past few years. The region will feature 12 schools this fall, 11 from the lower peninsula of Michigan and one from northern Ohio (Toledo).
North Florida Region
North Florida may be one of the smaller regions in the NCCGA, but always features at least one of the top teams in the country. Florida claimed both tournaments this past spring with Florida State coming in second. The Gators ended up finishing third at Hot Springs with the Seminoles coming in a tie for 19th. The Gators seem to be the clear favorite heading into the first tournament. If both UF and FSU keep up their recent play expect both to qualify for Nationals. Stetson and University of North Florida round out the region. This weekend's tournament will take place at Ocala National Golf Club in Ocala, Florida.
North Region
Wisconsin enters this fall having won the last five regional tournaments. Marquette has claimed five straight runner up’s in all of those regionals. Wisconsin didn’t quite live up to their ranking heading into nationals the last two semesters, so they should be looking for some redemption this fall. This weekend's tournament at the Broadlands Golf Club in North Prairie, Wisconsin. This will be the first time a regional has been held at the course,
Philly Region
In recent history the Philly region seems to be a coin flip between Delaware and Villanova. In last six tournaments each team has claimed three titles and three runner ups. With both teams returning a large number of contributors from last spring, it should be a competitive tournament this weekend in Middletown, Delaware.
South Florida Region
South Florida will be participating for the first time lead by Tyler Jones who has been to many national championships. The tournament will be host in Saddlebrook near Tampa. The University Miami, Florida Atlantic, Lynn and Nova Southeastern will not be able to participate this tournament due to the recent hurricane. We wish all of our students the best in these areas as communities recover and hope to see you back out on the course whenever time and safety permits.
Student Leader Picks
