Buckeyes Advance to Match Play at NCAA Championship
5/27/2024 11:38:00 PM | Men's Golf
Adam Wallin finished tied for 8th, the first Buckeye Top 10 since 1995
Let’s goooo!!! #GoBucks #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/SIE0Pjfe9e
— Ohio State Mens Golf (@OhioStateMGOLF) May 28, 2024
CARLSBAD, Calif. – It got nervy for a moment, but the experienced Ohio State team rallied down the stretch and punched its ticket to match play, finishing seventh during the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship.
The Buckeyes will take on Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals at 10:40 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
Ohio State carded a final round 297 and finished at 22-over par. That was three shots ahead of Georgia Tech in eighth place and four shots clear of Oklahoma in ninth.
At one point on the back nine, the Buckeyes found themselves on the wrong side of the cut line. But back-to-back birdies by Neal Shipley and Jackson Chandler on No. 15 helped spark the Buckeye rally. Of the four counting scores, the Buckeyes played the final five holes in 2-under par to secure their spot.
Adam Wallin, who held the 54-hole lead, struggled around turn, and fell a bit off the pace. But he regrouped and played the final six holes in even par. That certainly helped the team earn its match play spot, it brought him back to just two shots off the lead. He would eventually finish in eighth place at 1-under par following rounds of 68-74-69-76.
Wallin is the first Buckeye to finish in the top 10 at the NCAA Championship since Chris Wollmann finished fourth at the OSU Golf Club in 1995.
Shipley played a beautiful final round, matching a bogey with a birdie on each side for an even-par 72. He made bogey at No. 13 but rounded with a long birdie putt at No. 15. He nearly made birdie at 16 and 17 before making a solid up-and-down on No. 18 to close his round.
Jackson Chandler finished the stroke play portion at shot behind Shipley at 8-over par for the week. He got off to a tough start on Monday but played his final 11 holes at 1-under par and posted a 3-over 75.
Maxwell Moldovan, one of our seniors playing in their final collegiate stroke play round, carded a second-consecutive round of 74, including an even-par 36 coming home. He ends his record-setting career with a 71.25 scoring average which is the lowest in program history.
Tyler Sabo, playing in his first NCAA Championship, finished with a final round 78.
The NCAA switched to the match play format in 2009 and this will be just the second time Ohio State has qualified for match play. The Buckeyes made match play in 2011, where they lost to Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals on the Cowboys’ home course at Karstan Creek.
The winner of the Ohio State/Vanderbilt match will play the winner of the Virginia/North Carolina match on Tuesday afternoon in the semifinals. The championship match is set for Wednesday afternoon. Golf Channel will have live coverage of the quarterfinal matches from 1-3:30 p.m. ET and then coverage of the semifinals from 6-10 p.m. ET.
| NCAA Championship | |||
| 7 | TEAM | 294-294-289-297 | +22 |
| T8 | Adam Wallin | 68-74-69-76 | -1 |
| T35 | Neal Shipley | 77-70-76-72 | +7 |
| T42 | Jackson Chandler | 75-76-70-75 | +8 |
| T59 | Maxwell Moldovan | 75-77-74-74 | +12 |
| 80 | Tyler Sabo | 76-74-83-78 | +23 |
#GoBucks
