Men’s golf advances to 11th straight NCAA Championships


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The No. 2 ranked men’s golf team clinched its 11th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships last Wednesday, finishing first in the Regional Championship in Sammamish, Wash.

The Trojans topped a field of 14 teams, including some within the top 25, such as Kent State, Texas A&M and Florida State, and Pac-12 rival Washington who hosted the regional championship. USC finished the three-day competition at a combined 3-under 849, edging second-place Kent State by six strokes.

Head coach Chris Zambri and his squad started strong out of the gate, ending the first day of play in second place (-4). Junior Sean Crocker highlighted Monday’s action, shooting a career-best 7-under to lead the Trojans. Sophomore Justin Suh also posted a strong score of 3-under, to position his team just two strokes back of FSU heading into Tuesday.

USC then leapfrogged the Seminoles on day two. Suh paced the Trojans with another 3-under 71 round, while senior Rico Hoey carded his second straight 70. Junior Jonah Texeira opened his round with five consecutive birdies and moved to 5-under with another at the 10th hole. But Texeira labored to the finish line, shooting 6-over across the remaining eight holes. His 1-over round was his best of the week, helping the Trojans build a three-stroke lead over Florida State before the final day of the Regional Championship.

Hoey stayed in his groove on Wednesday, with yet another 1-under day, while Sean Crocker shot an even 71. The two strong performances cushioned Suh’s sole over-par round in Sammamish, as the sophomore carded a 73 to wrap up his week. The trio of Hoey, Suh and Crocker all finished in the overall individual top-five: Crocker and Suh were tied for second at 4-under, and Hoey, just one stroke behind the duo, tied for fifth. Freshman Cheng Jin finished tied for 39th at 10-over 223, and Texeira tied for 47th at 14-over.

“This week is always somewhat stressful,” said Zambri, who has led the Trojans beyond the regional every year since taking the reins of his alma mater in 2007. “We’re very happy it turned out how it did. Now we need to get ourselves ready for a big week in Chicago.”

The Regional Championship marked USC’s fifth win of the season — the team’s highest total since 2008. The program’s run of eleven straight NCAA Championship berths are tied for the national lead with Texas, who also secured a spot in Sugar Grove, Ill. last week with a second-place finish in their home-course regional in Austin.

The Trojans now begin the pursuit of their first-ever national championship in earnest. After coming agonizingly close with a second-place finish in 2015, and a semifinal exit last season, USC will look to put all the pieces together in 2017. The NCAA Championships begin on Friday at Rich Harvest Farms with stroke play. The Trojans hope to find themselves playing well into next week, as match play begins between the top eight teams on Tuesday.