USC
NCAA Championships First Round (Stroke Play)
Players Mentioned
No. 9 Trojans Set To Contend At NCAA Men's Golf Championships
May 21, 2019 | Men's Golf, Features
The No. 9 USC men's golf team, a three-time winner this season among six top 2 finishes led by world amateur No. 1 Justin Suh, returns to the NCAA Championships final after missing it last season for the first time in 12 years, continuing its quest for the program's first national title, Friday through Wednesday (May 24-29) at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
USC, which had gone to the NCAA finals in each of head coach Chris Zambri's first 11 seasons before missing the regional cut last year, earned the berth this year with a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Austin Regional with a final-round come-from-behind effort, overcoming this week's host school – Arkansas -- in the process.
Play on the 7,550-yard, par 72 course will begin at 4:50 a.m. PT for the first three rounds. The field will be cut from 30 to 15 teams for Monday's final round of stroke play with first tee at 9:30 a.m. PT. The eight-team match play final begins at 5 a.m. PT Tuesday and the finals Wednesday will begin at approximately 12:10 p.m. PT
Results will be available at Golfstat.com
Golf Channel will provide three days of live coverage, beginning with the final day of stroke play on May 27 between 1-5 p.m. PT. It will air quarterfinal (8-10:30 a.m.) and semifinal (1-5 p.m. PT) coverage on May 28 and will broadcast the championship match from 1-5 p.m. PT on May 29.
USC AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
USC, the NCAA runner-up in 2015, a semifinalist in 2016 and a quarterfinalist in 2017, is making its 59th team trip to the NCAA final (third most behind Oklahoma State's 69 and Texas' 62, including this season) and its 12th trip under 13th-year head coach Chris Zambri. USC had its then-nation-leading streak of 11 straight NCAA final appearances end at 11 last season. The Trojans had advanced out of NCAA regional play each season since it was split into six sections in 2009 until missing the cut in 2018 ... Before 2015, 2009 was the lone year USC had advanced out of the 54-hole stroke play portion of the championships and into the eight-team match-play playoff when the Trojans rallied from a rough start to tie for third (led by Tom Glissmeyer, who also tied for third). The Trojans then fell to Michigan in the quarterfinals ... In 2015, the Trojans defeated Texas, 4-1, in the NCAA quarterfinals and downed Illinois, 3-1-1, in the semifinals before falling to LSU, 4-1, in the final … The 2016 Trojans made it back-to-back semifinal appearances as they defeated Vanderbilt, 4-1, in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual runner-up Texas, 4-1. USC qualified for match play again in 2017 but fell to host Illinois in the quarterfinals, 3-1-1 ... The Trojans are still after the program's first NCAA title ... Prior to 2015, USC's previous highest finish at an NCAA Championship final was third, something the Trojans had done most recently in 2008, when they finished just two strokes out of first. That was Troy's top result since a third in 1975. The Trojans' most recent top 10 finish prior to 2008 came in 2005, when they took sixth ... Troy boasts four NCAA individual title winners. Scott Simpson won back-to-back NCAA crowns in 1976 and 1977 and Ron Commans did it in 1981. A long drought ended in 2007 when then-freshman Jamie Lovemark came from behind to win the individual title ... After failing to advance as a team in 2006 (though Taylor Wood qualified individually and tied for 27th), USC returned to the NCAA Championships final in 2007. Though USC was cut after three rounds, Lovemark's score, however, allowed him to continue as an individual entry, setting himself up for his final-round run to the title.
FALL/SPRING RECAP
The Trojans won their final two events of Fall play, claiming the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational and the Saint Mary's Invitational, and won the Southwestern Invitational for their only spring title.At Saint Mary's, USC erased a 17-stroke deficit to start the final round and a double-digit disadvantage at the turn to win by 13 strokes. The Trojans closed with a final round 265, its best effort in over 13 years, winning the tournament at 21-under 831 (290-276-265), leapfrogging three teams over the final 18 holes, including second-round leader BYU. Issei Tanabe led USC with a second-place finish at 8-under 205 (72-68-65) while Kyle Suppa tied for fourth and Kaito Onishi tied for ninth.
USC also came from behind to capture its first tournament of the year in Georgia, winning by a stroke at 22-under 842 (278-280-284). Justin Suh won his and the Trojans' first individual crown of the season, taking first at 14-under 202 (67-67-68), winning by four strokes.
The Trojans lost and then reclaimed the final round lead en route to a one-stroke win at the Southwestern Invitational. Suh birdied 18 to break a stalemate with Cal and give USC the win at 4-under 860 (284-285-291). Suh also won the individual title by five strokes at 12-under 204 (68-68-68), his eighth career title.
The Trojans finished second in their season opener at the Fighting Illini Invitational at 7-over 847 (287-281-279), Onishi leading USC in third at 3-under 207 (68-69-70). USC again finished second at the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson, Ariz., at 29-under 835 (279-270-286) while Suh led USC with a second-place finish at 16-under 200 (66-64-70). Troy followed it with another second at The Goodwin at 10-over 850 (286-279-285), led by Kaito Onishi's tie for third.
USC was sixth entering the final round of the NCAA Austin Regional and fell behind by almost 10 strokes early in the day. But USC, led by Suh's 3-under start, was down four strokes with all players through the turn. Kim birdied 1 and 2 while Suh and sophomore Issei Tanabe birdied 6, helping the Trojans claw into fourth briefly while Arkansas – paired with USC -- started losing strokes. USC finished the final two holes at 3-over, but had enough of a cushion to hold onto fifth.
SUH-PERLATIVES
* Justin Suh was named the Pac-12 Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2018-19 season, the Conference office announced April 18. The award, which is presented in each of the 24 sports the Pac-12 sponsors, was established to honor collegiate student-athletes that are standouts both academically and in their sports discipline. He is the first Trojan to be named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men's golf. He carries a 3.24 grade point average as a Business Administration major and has earned Pac-12 All-Academic Honorable Mention honors three times.* Suh, named to the All-Pac-12 team this season for the third year in a row, has 11 top 15 finishes as a senior, including eight in the top 10 and six in the top 4. In addition to his wins at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational at 14-under 202 (67-67-68) and at the Southwestern Invitational at 12-under 204 (68-68-68), he was fourth at the Pac-12 Championships at 4-under 280 (69-65-71-75), tied for fourth at the Fighting Illini Invitational at 2-under 208 (73-67-68), tied for 10th at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational at 1-under 209 (70-69-70), tied for 15th at the Saint Mary's Invitational at 1-under 212 (75-70-67), tied for fourth at the Amer Ari Invitational at 13-under 203 (68-64-71) and was second by a stroke at 16-under 200 (66-64-70) at the N.I.T. He completed the regular season with a seventh at the Western Intercollegiate at 3-under 207 (64-74-69) and then tied for 11th at the NCAA Austin Regional at 1-under 212 (71-72-69).
Suh, who missed only the Southern Highlands Collegiate this year while competing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (he missed the cut), leads the Trojans with a 69.12 stroke average over 34 rounds, including 20 rounds of 69 or better. He is one round in the 60s shy of tying his school season record set last year.
His stroke average is just over his school record he set last year (68.73) but still stands as second-best in school history. He has posted par or better in 27 of 34 rounds, including in 29 of the past 24. Suh took over the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in mid-October.
Suh was ranked fifth in the fall Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings for the U.S. squad and moved up to third in the first spring rankings, but declined consideration for this year's team. Suh is also on the 2019 Ben Hogan Award Watch List.
He is coming off one of the top seasons in USC history. The senior from San Jose, Calif., won a USC-record five tournaments, capped by the Pac-12 Championships individual title. He also broke USC's season records for stroke average (68.73), lowering Jamie Lovemark's 2007 mark (70.10). Suh's 21 rounds under 70 in 2018 also broke Lovemark's school standard of 20 from the same season.
In addition to his 21 rounds in the 60s last year, he had 23 rounds under par and 28 of par or better in 33 rounds.
Suh was one of five finalists for the Jack Nicklaus Award, among 10 semifinalists for the 2018 Ben Hogan Award and was among the top 3 all season on the 2018 Haskins Award Watch List. He also played on the 2018 Palmer Cup Team and represented the U.S. at the 2018 World Amateur Team Championships, helping the American squad to second place and tied for third overall.
* Sophomore Kaito Onishi, the 2018 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and a 2019 All-Pac-12 first teamer, is second on the team in stroke average (71.09) and rounds in the 60s (13). He has posted five top 10 finishes this year, including his third at the Fighting Illini Invitational at 3-under 207 (68-69-70) and a tie for third at The Goodwin at 2-under 208 (69-66-73). He was also 3-under with a tie for ninth at the Saint Mary's Invitational (210=73-71-66), even (216=69-72-75) to tie for 10th at the Southwestern Invitational and tied for fifth at the Western Intercollegiate at 4-under 206 (69-67-70).
Onishi was ranked fifth in the fall Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings for the international squad and fifth in the recent spring rankings.
Onishi was second on the squad last year in stroke average (71.85) and rounds in the 60s (eight). Included in the early-season Arnold Palmer Cup rankings for the international team (15th), he had a pair of top 4 finishes, four top 20s and seven results in the top 28.
* Junior Kyle Suppa has five top 19 finishes this season, is fifth on the team with a 73.28 stroke average and has seven rounds under 70. He tied for fourth at 5-under 208 (73-68-67) at the Saint Mary's Invitational – a career-best effort – and tied for seventh at 5-under 211 (70-67-74) at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational. He then tied for 12th at the Amer Ari Invitational at 7-under 209 (71-65-73) and also tied for sixth at the Sonoran Showdown at 3-under 207 (67-67-73).
* Sophomore Issei Tanabe, a 2019 All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection, is third on the Trojans with a stroke average of 71.76 in 34 rounds, including 12 rounds in the 60s, second-best on the team. He has four top 13 finishes, including a USC career-best second in Troy's come-from behind win at the Saint Mary's Invitational at 8-under 205 (72-68-65). He also tied for fourth at the Bill Cullum Invitational at 6-under 209 (69-74-66), tied for 12th at the Amer Ari Invitational at 7-under 209 (69-68-72) and tied for 13th at the National Invitational Tournament at 6-under 210 (75-66-69)
* Freshman Charlie Reiter, a 2019 Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention pick, has started eight of USC's events. He had three rounds in the 60s and a stroke average of 71.58 in fall play. He posted a season-best tie for sixth at the Fighting Illini Invitational at 1-under 209 (72-71-66) and was 23rd at the Nike Golf Collegiate at 4-over 214 (69-72-73). He played in the final round of the NCAA Austin Regional as a sub for Suppa.
* Senior Sam Kim, fourth on the team with a stroke average of 72.61, has seen action in nine events, and is coming off his best finish as a Trojan, taking fifth at the NCAA Austin Regional at 4-under 209 (69-71-69) … He preview best result as a starter was a tie for 15th at the Western Intercollegiate at 1-over 211 (66-74-71). He tied for 19th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate at 1-under 215 (74-67-74) for his other top 20 this year. He tied for 41st at the Bill Cullum Invitational and, in his first start this year in USC's win at the Southwestern Invitational, he provided two counting scores. He has seven rounds under 70.
* Junior Ryan Slater has played twice, topped by a tie for 54th at the Western Intercollegiate.
* Freshman Cameron Henry, a 2017 U.S. Amateur qualifier, made his collegiate debut at the Western Intercollegiate and did so with a bang, tying for fifth at 4-under 206 (66-69-71). He posted seven birdies in his debut round and had four in the second round.
* Also available is sophomore reserve Owen Calvin-Smith.
* The Trojans lost two members of the squad after the fall semester. Junior starter Cheng Jin left the program to join the PGA Tour China, which he qualified for in the spring. Junior walk-on Ing Ratanavadi has also left the squad.
HEAD COACH CHRIS ZAMBRI
Chris Zambri, a former USC All-Pac-10 performer and longtime Nationwide Tour veteran, is in his 13th year as USC's men's golf head coach, establishing himself as one of the top coaches in the nation with a recent string of three consecutive NCAA Championships quarterfinal match-play appearances – including one final and one semifinal berth -- among 12 total trips to the NCAA Championships final week (including this year).Zambri's teams have won 32 events, including conference titles in 2007, 2011 and 2018 and NCAA Regionals in 2008, 2012 and 2017. His 2015 team was a program-best NCAA Championships runner-up, followed up by an NCAA semifinal finish in 2016 and a quarterfinal appearance in 2017. His 2008 team came within three strokes of first place at the NCAAs. Trojan golfers have also won 30 individual crowns under Zambri.
Zambri's Trojans put together a streak of 11 consecutive NCAA final appearances that was tied for the nation's longest streak before it ended in 2018. Troy had also been one of only three schools to advance out of NCAA regional play each season since it was split into six sections in 2009. Troy's streak of three straight top 8 finishes between 2015-17 was its best since five top 7 results in a row between 1973-77.
