VALDOSTA, Ga. - After claiming the no. one seed in the NCAA Southeast Regional, the no. 4/4 Carson-Newman men's golf team heads to Valdosta, Ga. for regional play beginning on Thursday, May 5.
At a minimum, the top three teams and the top two student-athletes not with a team from each regional will advance to the finals May 16-20 at TPC Michigan in Detroit, Michigan. The remaining eight team berths will be allocated based on the regions represented in the prior year's head-to-head medal play portion of the championships, with the maximum number of teams from a given region capped at seven. The finals will be hosted by Wayne State (Michigan) and the Detroit Sports Commission.
The NCAA Southeast regional features stiff competition, including no. 5/5 LMU, no. 6/7 USC-Aiken, no. 8/8 North Georgia, no. 9/13 Georgia Southwestern, no. 10/10 Limestone, no. 14/15 Lander, no. 18/19 Columbus State, no. 9/19 Barton College, no. 24 West Georgia and no. 24/25 Queens.
The Eagles are also paired with the South Regional, which features no. 1/1 Barry, no. 3/3 Lee, no. 9/11 West Florida, no. 11/13 Nova Southeastern, no. 14/15 Florida Southern, no. 20/22 Saint Leo, and no. 22/23 Lynn.
The convocation earned their top ranking with stellar performances this season, finishing no lower than fifth at any tournament in both the fall or spring.
The Carson-Newman men's golf team recorded two event wins this season, beginning with a win at the Queens Fall Invitational. The Eagles' three round total of 827 was just enough to edge out the University of South Carolina Aiken by one stroke and give the Eagles sole possession of first place. The win was the first for coach Randy Wylie's program since taking the UNG Fall Invitational in October of 2019.
The Eagles were not done, as they went on to win the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate in the spring. C-N shot 29-under par for the entire two-round tournament, shooting a 547 and defeating Division-I Oral Roberts by 12 strokes. The second round 272 score is the lowest team round score in the history of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate tournament, beating out the previous best score of 274 set by Carson-Newman in the second round of the 2017 event by two strokes. The team's 36-hole score of 547 beats the previous best 36-hole score set by UT Martin in 2013 of 593 by 46 strokes.
"We were amazingly consistent this year," says Director of Golf Randy Wylie. "We didn't play the best all the time but we were steady and had some brilliant rounds from our guys and have had stretches where we played really good. Hopefully we have some guys peaking at the right time."
The 272 second round score is the third lowest round in SAC history for men's golf. Elliot MacGregor won the individual championship with a nine-under 135, a new record for lowest two round score in tournament history.
Individually, MacGregor was named SAC Freshman of the Year. Along with his Bobby Nichols championship, MacGregor recorded two top-20 finishes and was ranked inside the Golfstat Top 150 for three weeks during the 2022 spring season.
Jonathan Nielsen earned first-team All-Conference honors for the Eagles. The Hørsholm, Denmark native set a new course record at the Atlanta Country Club earlier this season, with a nine-under, 63 in the second round of the Southern Tide Intercollegiate. Nielsen went on to win the individual event championship at the tournament with a seven-under 209 for the week. He is ranked 12th in all of Division-II according to Golfstat with average one-under 71.29 this season.
"This is an older and more experienced team," says Wylie. "We have guys who have played a lot of ball and they are tough-minded and hopefully that'll lead to postseason success."
It is the second time this season that the Eagles will play at the Kinderlou Golf Club. The convocation finished third at the NCAA South/Southeast Preview back on Oct. 5, 2021.
A 71 stroke performance in the final round saw Nielsen notch two birdies on the front nine, while shooting for par on every other hole but one. His three round total of 216 put him in a three-way tie for fourth.
This is the first time that Carson-Newman men's golf will compete in the postseason since the 2019 South/Southeast Regional.
The Eagles were five shots shy of snagging a spot in the finals heading into the day after landing in a tie for 11th in the second round. The comeback bid ended three shots out of the seventh-place qualifying position with a 12-over day. The Orange and Blue made it as high as a tie for fifth in the round but fell below the line after a weather delay that lasted just over an hour and a half.
It was the best finish for the Eagles in the regional since a sixth-place finish in 2008. They went 40-over for the event with a 904 total.
Tom Forester led the Eagles with an eight-over 224 for the week to finish tied for 23rd overall.
"This will be an absolute challenge for us," says Wylie. "Between the Florida schools and then us having to play a tough conference like the SAC should hopefully help us prepare. The course is fantastic. We played there earlier this year and our guys said it is the best course they've ever seen. It is challenging but we're excited to play there and represent Carson-Newman."
The Eagles tee off at 10:10 am on Thursday, May 5, with Will Collins taking the course first. Fans can follow along with live stats for free via Golfstat here.
