Quick 9: Some Amazing Things From 2023-24
I tend to write too much. Overstuffing each sentence with dashes, parenthesis, and asides. I know I do this, but I can't stop. There's just too much to tell. As far as indulgences go, it's pretty tame, but I need to quit.
As a way to do that I’m going to be putting these rabbit hole tidbits into a series that will be as deliberately to-the-point as I can make them. Some you’ve heard before, maybe even from me in an earlier post. Hopefully even the previously known will still be interesting, like a hole on a familiar golf course.
Won’t you join me for a quick 9?
*NOTE: underlined text provides a link to references or sites with more information
1. Super 60s
Nick Dunlap [Alabama] shot a 60 during the 2nd round of the Hamptons Intercollegiate in October, his last collegiate tournament. A few months later, he shot a 3rd round 60 at the American Express PGA Tour event which he won, becoming the first amateur to win on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991. Dunlap is believed to be the only player to shoot competitive rounds of 60 in both college and professional events, and he did it in the same season!
2. Club 60 No Longer a Boys Club
Lauren Olivares Leon [NC State] shot what is believed to be the first 60 in a competitive round in women's collegiate golf history. Until a scoring error was corrected, she was thought to have been the first collegiate player every to break 60. Alas, she had to “settle” for a women’s NCAA-record 11-under par round that included TWO bogeys.
3. Pony Pair
In October 2023, SMU teammates Mackenzie Lee and Ellie Szeryk shot 62 and 63 respectively in the final round of the Jim West Challenge. Szeryk earned medalist honors and Lee finished T4 just 3 shots behind. Their combined 125 score included 2 eagles, 16 birdies, 17 pars, and only a single bogey! Teammates shooting a combined 19-under-par may or may not be a record, but it’s incredibly impressive either way, and helped the team shatter multiple program records.
4. Ding Ding!
Wenyi Ding [Arizona State] started his collegiate career with a bang that got everyone’s attention. He shot 199 (-17) in his first career start at the National Invitational, nearly winning and joining a small list of players to break 200 in their first event. Then he did the unthinkable, shooting 189 (-27) at the Amer Ari Invitational. He is believed to be the first college player to shoot a sub-190 score as well as the first to begin his collegiate career with back-to-back sub-200 scores.
5. Highest of Fives
The Auburn men's team finished the Mossy Oak Collegiate with all five players in the top 5 positions. This is believed to be a first in a collegiate competition at any level, but almost certainly at the D1 level. Not only that, the top two players shared medalist honors which in itself is a rare accomplishment. Just for good measure, their 6th player - playing as an individual - finished 7th overall.
6. Watch Out For That…Tree!
During the 2024 edition of the Princeton Invitational, Dartmouth’s Tyler Brand had a pretty wild two days. The teams played 36 holes the first day and Brand opened his tournament with a morning 84. Not sure what he had for lunch but apparently it agreed with him as he started birdie, eagle, birdie on his way to a 10-under 61. If this 23-stroke difference - which may or may not be a record - wasn’t interesting enough, Brand was forced to WD in the final round the next day after reportedly suffering a concussion from walking into a tree.
7. Double-Digit Dog Cat
The #10 seeded Clemson men's team won their regional, becoming the first double-digit seeded team to win a regional since the format change in 2009. In route to their first regional title in 20 years, the Tigers set a program record lowest post-season score of 815 (-25).
8. Freshman Sweep
Jackson Koivun [Auburn] became the first player to win the Haskins, Hogan, Mickelson, and Nicklaus awards in the same year. It’s incredibly difficult to sweep these awards since the Mickelson Award is given to the top freshmen. Koivun is only the second freshman to win the Hogan, an award that alluded both Jamie Lovemark (2007, USC) and Justin Thomas (2012, Alabama) and prevented them from sweeping these awards as well.
9. Top Teams Prevail
The number 1 ranked teams coming in to the women’s and men’s NCAA championships were Stanford and Auburn respectively. Stanford women finished at the top of the stroke play portion, earning the #1 seed in match play. This is normally not the place you want to be since only one other team (Stanford, 2022) has won the match play portion from the top seed, but the Cardinal got it done. The Auburn men struggled a bit in the stroke play portion, earning the #6 seed for match play. In the end, though, they navigated the bracket and came out victorious.
Both #1 ranked teams on the men's AND women's sides actually winning the title is something that hasn't happened since before the introduction of match play on the men's side (2009).
Thanks for reading!