We're in! Bulls place 4th at N.M. Regional, book return trip to NCAA Championship finals https://t.co/Djmgl3a4QW pic.twitter.com/5DfA1SMlkF
— USF Mens Golf (@USFMensGolf) May 18, 2016
For the second consecutive year, USF men's golf will join 29 other schools for the chance to take home a national championship. With the top five teams of each regional advancing to the NCAA Championships, the Bulls locked down a fourth-place performance in the Albuquerque Regional, punching their ticket to Eugene, Oregon, for the championship rounds from May 27 - June 1.
Second-year head coach Steve Bradley's guys entered the regional as a #3 seed and played like a championship bound team all three days, hovering around the top five of the leaderboard for the entirety of the tournament. On a long University of New Mexico Championship Course made even longer by rain, wind, and unseasonable cold, the runaway American champs finished at 35 over par, only behind Arizona State (+12), TCU (+24), and USC (+31).
"It's a grind out there, but we're extremely happy and looking forward to going to Oregon," Bradley said when speaking to GoUSFBulls.com. "At the beginning of the year, the goal is certainly to go compete for a national championship. Once you get here, you know you want to win, but you just want to advance. I think we're pretty relieved."
Individually, three Bulls finished in the top 25: Claudio Correa (+4, tied for fifth), Rigel Fernandes (+9, tied for 13th) and Chase Koepka (+10, tied for 17th). American Player of the Year Aksel Olsen finished at 12 over par, tying for 28th.
The golf Bulls are now on #NattyWatch just like last year, and they stand a legitimate chance at bringing home the school's first Division I team national championship. Here's everyone else the Bulls will be competing with in Phil Knight country:
ALBUQUERQUE REGIONAL: Arizona State, TCU, Southern California, USF, San Diego State
STILLWATER REGIONAL: Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Clemson, Louisville, Purdue
TUSCALOOSA REGIONAL: Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Auburn
FRANKLIN REGIONAL: Texas, Vanderbilt, Houston, LSU (defending champions), Virginia
KOHLER REGIONAL: Illinois, Florida, Arkansas, Florida State, Baylor
TUCSON REGIONAL: Stanford, Oregon, UAB, California, Wake Forest