By Mike Blum
The 2011 NCAA Golf Championship developed into an all-Georgia affair, and for the second straight year, the state’s emerging golf powerhouse left with the trophy.
Upstart Augusta State became the first team in more than 25 years to capture back-to-back national titles, defeating two-time NCAA champion Georgia in the match play finals.
As they did last year, the Jaguars narrowly qualified for the match play conclusion to the six-day tournament, and then methodically took apart some of the most heralded programs in college golf en route to their title.
Augusta again took out higher-ranked in-state foe Georgia Tech in the first round, and made it two wins in two attempts against tournament favorite Oklahoma State, with the Jaguars’ most recent victory coming on the Cowboys’ home course.
The only difference was that last year’s win over Oklahoma State came in the championship match. This time, the Jaguars took down the Cowboys in the semifinals, setting up an all-Georgia championship match against the Bulldogs, who were looking to continue their run of an NCAA title every six years.
Augusta claimed the title match 3-2, with the team’s No. 1 player – Patrick Reed – clinching the victory with a 2&1 decision over Harris English in the final match.
It was an emotional victory for the Jaguars, who will lose all five players who competed in the NCAA Championship, along with their coach.
Josh Gregory, who built the Jaguars into a national power, announced after the title match that he was returning to SMU, his alma mater, to become the school’s head golf coach. Gregory spent 10 years with the Jaguars, who compete in Division II in every sport except golf.
“I just have so many emotions running through me right now,” Gregory said to the media after the victory. “I am so proud of every one of these guys. We’ve been like family these last few years. They mean so much to me. I’m happy for them, happy for the city of Augusta, happy for our university.”
The Jaguars started four seniors in the match against Georgia, with Reed giving up his final season of eligibility to turn pro. Reed received a sponsor’s invitation into the PGA Tour event in Memphis, making his professional debut less than a week after winning the clinching match in the NCAA Championship.
“I wanted that to happen last year, but I won my match early,” Reed said after his win over English. So this year I wanted that to happen so bad. I wanted it to come down to me.
“I was determined to finish undefeated in match play.”
For the second straight year, Reed went 3-0 in singles, with the highlight of his 2011 showing an 8&7 drubbing of 2010 U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein. Augusta won both its national titles after Reed transferred from Georgia to Augusta following his freshman season. Reed’s family moved to Augusta from Baton Rouge, La., after he graduated from high school.
Although Reed left Athens under somewhat murky circumstances, his transfer was not a hot topic of media conversation, although it clearly had a huge impact on the outcome of the last two NCAA Championships.
Also going 3-0 for the Jaguars was Carter Newman, a second generation Augusta State golfer from the Augusta suburb of Evans. The third Augusta golfer to win in the title match was Australian Mitch Krywulycz, who also scored one of the team’s three wins in a 3-2 quarterfinal victory over Georgia Tech.
Augusta won all three matches 3-2, with No. 2 Henrik Norlander scoring his only victory in the semifinals against Oklahoma State’s Kevin Tway. Norlander went 3-0 last year at No. 1, but yielded that spot to Reed this year.
Georgia had an easier time reaching the finals, winning 3 ½ to 1 ½ in its opener against Illinois and defeating Duke 3-2 in the semifinals after the Blue Devils upset No. 1 seed UCLA the previous round.
Macon’s Russell Henley went undefeated at No. 2 for the Bulldogs, including a 3&2 win over Norlander in the finals. Also going undefeated for Georgia was No. 5 Bryden MacPherson, with English winning twice before losing in the championship match.
The first two matches in the championship round were quickly decided, as MacPherson won 6&4 and Newman romped 7&5, both against opponents who went 0-3 in match play.
With Henley taking control of his match against Norlander with a strong effort, Augusta needed wins from Krywulycz and Reed and both produced.
Krywulycz went 4-up after 4 holes when Georgia senior Hudson Swafford began his round with four straight bogeys on the demanding Karsten Creek course in Stillwater, Okla. Swafford came back to win holes 7, 8 and 9 to cut his deficit to one with a birdie at the 9th, but Krywulycz responded with birdies at 12 and 14 to regain control.
Swafford birdied the 16th to stay alive, but bogeyed the 17th after Krywulycz hit his second shot in the water guarding the green, matching Swafford’s bogey with a deft pitch shot.
Reed played steady golf in his final match for the Jaguars, recording 14 pars with one birdie and one bogey before he and English both struggled on the difficult 17th. Both players were 1-under on the front, but English began the back nine with a double bogey, enabling Reed to win the hole with a bogey.
A bogey at the 13th put English 2 down, and the 17th was halved with double bogeys, with English hitting his second shot in the water after Reed’s approach left him in a precarious spot.
Augusta had to battle just to reach the match play portion of the tournament, finishing 7th with an 888 total over 54 holes, two strokes ahead of 9th place Texas A&M, the 2009 champion. The top 8 teams advanced to match play, with Georgia Tech 2nd at 875, three strokes behind UCLA. Georgia was 5th at 884.
Reed was the only Augusta played to finish in the top 50 individually, tying for 3rd at 215 that included an opening 69 and a 71 in the final round. Newman turned in three steady rounds (74-75-75), but Norlander and Krywulycz both struggled with the exceptions of one under-par round each.
English led Georgia, tying for 10th at 217 after opening scores of 70-71. MacPherson and Albany’s T.J. Mitchell both contributed two counting scores each, including the final day when both Henley and Swafford faltered.
Georgia Tech held a slim lead heading to the final day after scores of 286 and 288, but the Yellow Jackets shot 298 to finish three behind UCLA with an 875 total.
Acworth’s James White led the Jackets, tying for 8th at 216 after taking the opening day lead with a 67. J.T. Griffin shot 73-72-74 to tie for 17th at 219, with Paul Haley 20th at 220 after scores of 71-72 the first two days. Kyle Scott (T29, 220) gave Tech four players in the top 30.
The Augusta-Georgia Tech rematch was a rollercoaster, with wild swings in every match. The key match was Newman’s 2-up win over Haley, who was 3-up after 4 holes. Newman won holes 7, 8, 9 and 10 to take the lead, but the match was all square after 16 before Newman won both 17 and 18.
Krywulycz was 3-up after 4 against Scott, who battled back to square the match after 9 holes. They were still even after 16 before Krywulcyz took the pivotal 17th to win 1-up.
Reed beat White 3&2 after leading 5-up after 11, with Griffin breaking open a tight match against Norlander, winning holes 14, 15 and 16 to take a 3&2 decision.
Olle Bengtsson led Tech’s Richy Werenski 5-up after 7, but stumbled down the stretch and lost on the 19th hole in a match that wound up not figuring in the decision.
With Bengtsson losing decisively in the opening match against Oklahoma State, Augusta needed to win three of four, and Newman, Norlander and Reed delivered. Reed demolished Uihlein to offset the loss at No. 5, and Norlander was in control all the way in his win over Tway.
Newman trailed for most of his match but kept battling back. He halved the 17th with a 30-foot par putt, birdied the 18th for another half to send the match to extra holes, then birdied the par-5 14th to win on the first extra hole. Krywulycz lost his match 1-up, winning 16 and 17 after being 3-down with three to play.
Georgia’s path to the finals was much less stressful. English and Henley both closed out their matches at 16 against Illinois, with Henley winning against Scott Langley, the 2010 NCAA champion and co-low amateur with Henley at last year’s U.S. Open. Henley was 2-down after 5, but won three of the next four holes before ending the match by winning holes 14, 15 and 16.
MacPherson was 2-down after 8 before winning 2&1 in the first match, with Swafford getting a half after leading 3-up after 8.
English romped 5&4 and Henley got hot on the back nine to win 3&2 against Duke. MacPherson provided the first Georgia win, taking his match 2&1.
All three teams will suffer heavy losses, with the Bulldogs and Jackets graduating three seniors each.
Augusta returns Macon’s Taylor Floyd, a key starter for the 2010 championship team who lost his spot among the top five during the past season. The Jaguars will also have Alpharetta’s Derek Chang, who redshirted after transferring from Minnesota. Chang is a two-time Southeastern Amateur champion. Savannah’s Brendan Gillins will be a senior for the Jaguars, with Buford’s Shawn Yim also getting a chance to break into the lineup.
Georgia loses its top 3 players, returning Mitchell and MacPherson, who will both be juniors. The Bulldogs will be looking for help from incoming freshman to remain in the national title picture.
Tech loses three starters, but looks to be in better position going forward than its two in-state rivals. White returns for his senior season as a solid No. 1, and could be joined in the starting lineup by as many as three other Atlanta area golfers.
Duluth’s Seth Reeves, who will be a redshirt sophomore, will be looking to move into the lineup along with Ollie Schniederjans, White’s former high school teammate at Harrison, and Woodstock’s Anders Albertson, who both entered Tech early as freshman in 2011.
Kennesaw State also competed in the NCAA Championship, but finished well back in the pack after being in contention following the first round. Kennesaw’s Jeff Karlsson tied for 20th at 220, with teammate Matt Nagy posting a pair of 73s around a disappointing second round showing.