NCAA Men's Golf Championships 2022: Texas Beats Arizona State for 4th Title
Jun 2, 2022
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - MAY 31: Parker Coody of the Texas Longhorns tees off during the matchplay semifinals of the Division I Men's Golf Championship held at the Grayhawk Golf Club on May 31, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Texas has won its fourth men's golf NCAA Division I championship after defeating Arizona State 3-2 in match play Wednesday.
Coody held the lead after the second hole and never relinquished it. However, Summerhays kept Coody at arm's length for the remainder of the match and won the 16th hole to cut the deficit to one.
However, Coody bounced back to win the 17th hole and the match. He credited his putting post-match.
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) June 1, 2022
ASU's David Puig and Texas' Mason Nome fought an incredible battle in which neither player was up more than one hole all day. The two found themselves all square after nine of the 18 holes, including the very last one thanks to this clutch Puig putt:
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) June 2, 2022
However, Travis Vick's 1-up win over Arizona State's Cameron Sisk ended up being the difference. He executed a great putt on the last hole, and the tap-in wasn't needed after it was conceded.
In the end, the Longhorns pulled through for the national title.
NBA Champion JR Smith, Excel Sports Agree to Contract for NIL Representation
Jan 28, 2022
North Carolina A&T's J.R. Smith waits to putt on the 17th green during the first round of the Phoenix Invitational golf tournament in Burlington, N.C., Monday, Oct. 11, 2021. Smith, who spent 16 years in the NBA, made his college golfing debut in the tournament hosted by Elon. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Former NBA guard JR Smith, who plays
college golf for North Carolina A&T, has signed a contract with Excel
Sports Management for representation on potential name, image and
likeness (NIL) deals.
Lance Young, Smith's agent, told ESPN's
Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday there's been "significant NIL
interest" from brands that make golf equipment and clothing as well
as video game companies, which could result in agreements worth "well into
the six figures."
The PGA Tour also announced Smith signed with Tiger Woods and Justin Thomas' management to represent him in NIL deals.
NIL agreements are more limited in
scope than full-scale endorsement contracts signed by professional
athletes, led by restrictions on promotion of sponsors during NCAA
events, per Wojnarowski. But they've provided an avenue for student-athletes to profit
while still in college.
An avalanche of opportunities has
emerged since the Supreme Court cleared the way for NIL contracts in
a June ruling.
Erica Hunzinger of the Associated Press
reported Thursday around 125,000 athletes have received NIL
compensation based on information provided by INFLCR and Opendorse,
third-party companies that track the deals.
Much of the focus has been on high-profile earners such as Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, who brought in nearly $1 million before the college football season started. However, most of the agreements have been far more modest.
The average agreement has been worth
between $1,036 and $1,291, and athletes from men's sports have secured 59
percent of the deals and 67.4 percent of the compensation, per
Hunzinger.
Smith's collegiate golf
career got off to an eventful start when he was attacked by a group
of yellow jackets during his first tournament in October:
The two-time NBA champion said after the event that his goal was to settle in as a normal
member of the team despite his status as a 36-year-old freshman with
a successful basketball career on his resume.
"More than anything, it's just
being able to go out there and compete as one of the guys, just
another name, and get my [butt] kicked," Smith said. "It
was actually a very humbling feeling. Again, I'm ready to go to that
range to work on it. I had fun, but I don't like losing."
The Aggies' 2021-22 season is scheduled
to resume in March.
JR Smith Reflects on Getting 4.0 GPA in IG Video: 'Can't Even Describe the Feeling'
Dec 14, 2021
BURLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 11: Former NBA player J.R. Smith of the North Carolina A&T Aggies tees off to begin his first competitive round of collegiate golf at the Phoenix Invitational at Alamance Country Club on October 11, 2021 in Burlington, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Former NBA guard JR Smith celebrated
earning a perfect 4.0 grade-point average (GPA) during his first
semester of college at North Carolina A&T State University.
Smith, who generated headlines for
being a 36-year-old freshman on the Aggies' golf team, posted an
Instagram video after finding out his final grades from the fall
semester:
“I can’t even describe the feeling… especially when you don’t think you can do it… you always hear about your disabilities...”
Smith achieved the 4.0 while taking
part in the first half of the golf season, which included four
tournaments across September and October. The campaign takes a winter
break before resuming in March.
In October, he said Phoenix Suns point
guard Chris Paul was among the players to reach out to say they've
been tracking his progress.
"I got a lot of great feedback," Smith told reporters. "Chris Paul was telling me guys were talking
about it in the locker room. Guys are really looking for my scores,
so I got to take care of business so when I see them it ain't going
to be too much backlash."
The New Jersey native didn't take the
traditional path to college as he was selected in the first round of
the 2004 NBA draft out of St. Benedict's Prep School.
He circled back to higher education
after a successful 16-year NBA career that included stops with the
New Orleans Hornets, Denver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Cleveland
Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers.
Smith wrapped up his career by helping
the Lakers win the 2020 NBA championship.
Now the 2012-13 Sixth Man of the Year
is finding success at N.C. A&T both on the golf course and in the
classroom.
JR Smith Shoots 10 Over in Collegiate Golf Debut for North Carolina A&T
Oct 11, 2021
BURLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA - OCTOBER 11: Former NBA player J.R. Smith of the North Carolina A&T Aggies tees off to begin his first competitive round of collegiate golf at the Phoenix Invitational at Alamance Country Club on October 11, 2021 in Burlington, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Former NBA star JR Smith made his collegiate golf tournament debut Monday for North Carolina A&T in the Elon Phoenix Invitational. Smith, a two-time NBA champion, finished with a score of 10-over 81.
North Carolina A&T requires its golfers to qualify for regular-season tournaments in practice. Smith qualified for the tournament by one stroke.
He expressed his excitement for his debut on the green and caught the attention of former NBA teammate Carmelo Anthony.
Smith got off to a strong start with two birdies in his first five holes. WFMY News 2 reporter Brian Hall followed Smith and provided video of his performance:
Despite eventually fading to his score of 81, Smith didn't look out of place in the tournament. Golf.com writer Sean Zak said Smith's swing looked "really solid."
Midway through the opening round of the tournament, Smith's score had him tied for 77th.
Smith, who went straight to the NBA out of high school, enrolled at North Carolina A&T in August to pursue a degree in liberal studies.
Amy Bockerstette to Be 1st Athlete With Down Syndrome to Compete for Collegiate Title
May 3, 2021
SCOTTSDALE, AZ - JANUARY 29: Amy Bockerstette and Gary Woodland pose for a photo on the 10th tee box prior to the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on January 29, 2020 in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
Amy Bockerstette, a 22-year-old golfer for Paradise Valley Community College, will become the first collegiate athlete with Down syndrome to compete for a national title when she participates in the NJCAA national championships May 10-13 in Florida, per the Associated Press.
Bockerstette was also the first student-athlete with Down syndrome to receive an athletic scholarship.
She became an instant sensation in 2019 when she paired with Gary Woodland on the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale ahead of the Phoenix Open. Bockerstette impressed with a nice chip out of the sand and an eight-foot putt for par.
Per the AP, "Bockerstette and her family created the I Got This Foundation in 2019 to provide golf instruction and playing opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities."
"We want to use Amy's celebrity to make other people's lives better, most immediately those with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities but, more broadly, anyone who sees value in Amy's achievement in their lives," her father, Joe Bockerstette, told Josh Weinfuss of ESPN in 2020.
The NJCAA championships are being held in Ormond Beach at Plantation Bay Golf and Country Club.
PGA Championship Leaderboard 2019: Updating Results and Standings for Friday
May 17, 2019
Brooks Koepka reacts after sinking a putt on the ninth green to finish the first round of the PGA Championship golf tournament, Thursday, May 16, 2019, at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Brooks Koepka knows how to perform in golf's major championships.
Playing with Tiger Woods and Francesco Molinari in the first round of the PGA Championship, Koepka served notice on the field at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York that he was going to push his competitors to the limit when he shot a course record 63 to take the lead as he pursues the fourth major championship of his career (2017, 2018 U.S. Open; 2018 PGA Championship).
As well as Koepka played, he could not sleep easily on the lead for a couple of reasons. First, Danny Lee was nearly as effective as Koepka as he shot a 64 and was right on his heels. The second is the Bethpage Black course itself. This is one of the most challenging courses that the top professionals on the PGA Tour play on a regular basis, and one great round does not assure any golfer that the next three will follow in a similar suit.
Brooks Koepka, -7 Jordan Spieth, -3 Dustin Johnson, -3 Daniel Berger, -3 Tommy Fleetwood, -3 Danny Lee, -2 Sung Kang, -2
"That was one of the best rounds I've played probably as a professional," Koepka said, per the Associated Press (h/t Boston Globe). "This golf course is brutal."
Koepka, who played in the morning Thursday, is scheduled to tee off Friday at 1:49 p.m. ET with Woods and Molinari. Lee, who played in the afternoon during the opening round, had an early-morning start Friday and stumbled badly. He had a double bogey and two bogeys early in the round and was six over par on the round through his first nine holes. He made a bit of a recovery with his second nine to get back into contention.
Koepka had a narrow lead when he went to sleep Thursday night, but with slightly more than an hour before his second-round tee time his lead was four strokes.
Dustin Johnson, who shot a one-under 69 in the opening round, was two under par through his first 12 holes of the second round. The thought of a battle between Koepka and Johnson, two of the top power players on the tour, would make for great theater over the weekend.
British golfer Tommy Fleetwood shot a 67 in the opening round, and he will tee off at 12:54 as he tries to stay on the first page of the leaderboard and get closer to Koepka.
Woods, fresh off his remarkable Masters victory in April, did not have much of the magic he displayed at Augusta. He was four over par before he rallied with three birdies and an eagle to briefly move under par. However, he could not sustain it and shot a two-over par 72.
"It wasn't as clean as I'd like to have it for sure," said Woods, per Bob Harig of ESPN.com. "Didn't get off to a very good start. ... And then I found my way back around, got it under par for the day, and let a couple slip away with a couple bad putts and a couple mistakes at the end."
While Woods had his problems Thursday, he was impressed with Koepka, saying that the tournament leader left a few strokes (per Harig) out there because he missed a few putts that he could have dropped.
Koepka was in a commanding position as he begins his second round. If he can follow up on his opening round with another superb performance, he can put his signature on the 2019 PGA Championship. However, any slippage will give hope to names like Johnson, Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler.
Woods starts his second round nine strokes off the lead, and his first priority will be playing well enough to make the cut.
