BATH, Mich. — The University of Georgia men’s golf team claimed the team and individual championships at the 2023 NCAA Golf Bath Regional on Wednesday. The Bulldogs and senior Ben van Wyk completed their wire-to-wire wins at the Bath Regional in impressive fashion at Eagle Eye Golf Club. With the win, the University of Georgia becomes the first school since 2016 to sweep the team and individual championships in both a men’s and women’s golf regional.
“I am so proud of our guys,” said Georgia head coach Chris Hack following the tournament. “They came into this week knowing what was at stake, and were focused every round. Our goal all year has been to play for the national championship, and now we have a chance to do that. We are looking forward to going back to Grayhawk.”
The Bulldogs earned the team title and first regional title since 2019, with a three-round total of 29-under-par 823 (266-274-283). Fourth-ranked Illinois finished second at 21-under-par 831 (272-278-281), while No. 22 Oregon finished third at 14-under-par 838 (279-274-285), No. 10 Florida finished fourth at 12-under-par 840 (280-284-276) and No. 15 Texas finished fifth at 10-under-par 842 (275-281-286). van Wyk claimed individual medalist honors with a 54-hole score of 10-under-par 203 (65-68-70).
“It’s great to see the team play to its potential,” said van Wyk. “Everyone on the team is capable of competing with the guy next to them, and we really fed off of one another. We didn’t have the year we expected, but we were clutch when we needed it. We have a lot of momentum going into the most important week of the year, next week in Arizona.”
Sophomore Buck Brumlow paced the Bulldogs with a final round 2-under-par 69, while van Wyk fired a final round of 1-under-par 70. They were followed by senior Connor Creasy and junior Caleb Manuel who each carded rounds of 1-over-par 72, while sophomore Maxwell Ford rounded out the Bulldogs with a final round of 2-over-par 73.
The win marked van Wyk’s first individual title. He was followed by Manuel who finished tied for second with a 54-hole total of 7-under-par 206 (66-68-72), his career-best finish. Ford finished tied for 11th at 4-under-par 209 (71-65-73), while Brumlow finished 2-under-par 211 (68-74-69) and Creasy finished tied for 22nd at 1-under-par 212 (67-73-72).
“It has been a hard last four years for me,” said van Wyk. “I overcame some mental demons, and just tried to react fully today. I couldn’t be happier to celebrate this win with my team.”
Up next, the Bulldogs will head to Scottsdale, Arizona for the NCAA Championships on May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club.
Since the regional format was introduced in 1988-89, Georgia has advanced to the NCAA Championships 25 times, including 22 of 26 under Coach Haack. Overall, the Bulldogs have earned 51 berths to the NCAA Championship. Haack led the Bulldogs to the 1999 and 2005 national titles, runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2011, and the national semifinals in 2015.
NCAAs will begin with 54-holes of stroke play on May 26-28, with the top-15 teams moving on t a fourth round of stroke play on May 29. The top-eight squads after stroke play will advance to match play. The quarterfinals and semifinals are set for May 3o, while the championship match is slated for May 31. You can follow along at Golfstat.com.