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NCAA men’s golf regionals: Florida, Tennessee in danger zone and Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg takes lead in Norman during Tuesday’s action

cameron jourdan
·6 min read

College golf’s championship season continues this week with men’s Division I regional play at six locations across the country.

Three regions have 13 teams and 10 individuals while the other three have 14 teams and five individuals, with 18 holes of stroke play each day from Monday, May 15 through Wednesday, May 17. The top five teams (30 total) and the low individual not on an advancing team (six total) from each region advance to the NCAA Men’s Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 26-31.

Below you’ll find a recap, as well as a breakdown of what to watch for from each regional as play concludes from all six sites Tuesday.

Golfweek/Sagarin rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual

Auburn regional

Team leader: Auburn (1 under)

Individual leader: Christoph Bleier, Colorado State

If the cut were today: 1. Auburn; 2. Chattanooga; 3. Colorado State; 4. Vanderbilt; 5. Ohio State

The hook: Only two teams shot under par Tuesday at the Auburn regional: the hosts and top-seeded Vanderbilt, which has a seven-shot advantage over Ohio State in fifth with 18 holes to play. Washington, Indiana and TCU are chasing, but second-seeded Tennessee is in trouble, sitting eight shots behind the cut.

What to watch for Wednesday: Five shots separate first from fourth, but there’s seven between fourth and fifth. It wouldn’t be a shock to see the top four teams remain the same, so can Ohio State hold on to the final one?

Bath regional

Team leader: Georgia (28 under)

Individual leader: Ben Van Wyk, Georgia (9 under)

If the cut were today: 1. Georgia; 2. Illinois; 3. Oregon; 4. Texas; 5. Michigan State

The hook: Florida is in trouble. The SEC champions sit seven shots back of the cut line with 18 holes to play. The Gators will need big performances from the entire lineup come Wednesday. Meanwhile, Michigan State is looking to sneak in the final spot on its home course. With Georgia comfortably ahead and top-seeded Illinois in second, only a couple spots could be up for grabs.

What to watch for Wednesday: Can Michigan State hold on, or will Florida make a comeback? Or can Kansas State, the fifth seed, sneak in. There could be some shuffling, but for the second-seeded team to avoid elimination, it’ll have to pass the defending national champs or the host team.

Las Vegas regional

Team leader: Stanford (42 under)

Individual leader: Ethan Ng, Stanford; Ben James, Virginia (14 under)

If the cut were today: 1. Stanford; 2. Arizona State; 3. Virginia; 4. San Francisco; 5. Northwestern

The hook: For the second straight day, Stanford set a school record for lowest round in an NCAA Regional. The Cardinal shot 22 under on Tuesday and passed Pac-12 foe Arizona State for the lead, which is four with 18 holes to go. Virginia is third, but the No. 4 and 5 seeds are up for grabs, too, with eight shots separating third from seventh.

What to watch for Wednesday: Hopefully there’s not a nearly three-hour lightning delay like Tuesday, but East Tennessee State (sixth) and San Francisco (fourth) can play their way to Grayhawk with a strong performance and holding out the chasers.

Morgan Hill regional

Team leader: Mississippi State (2 under)

Individual leader: Luke Clanton, Florida State (4 under)

If the cut were today: 1. Mississippi State; 2. Florida State; 3. Baylor; 4. Pepperdine; 5. BYU

The hook: It was a tough day in California. Mississippi State is the only team still under par for the regional, and the best score of the second round was Baylor’s 6 over. While Grand Canyon, Missouri and Charlotte fell, BYU, Cal and N.C. State rose.

What to watch for Wednesday: BYU has a five-shot lead with 18 holes to play in the fifth position, but with the course playing as tough as it did Tuesday, another day like that Wednesday could mean plenty of leaderboard movement by day’s end.

Norman regional

Team leader: Alabama (15 under)

Individual leader: Ludvig Aberg (9 under)

If the cut were today: 1. Alabama; 2. Oklahoma; T-3. Texas Tech, Colorado; 5. North Florida

The hook: Big days for Alabama, Colorado and North Florida. The Crimson Tide leap host Oklahoma and Texas Tech to take the 36-hole lead by two shots. Meanwhile, Colorado, the No. 9 seed, is tied for third with Texas Tech and four shots back from Alabama. Meanwhile, North Florida is in the final spot at 10 under with two shots to separate them from sixth-place Duke.

What to watch for Wednesday: Of all the regionals, Norman has the potential to get wild Wednesday. All five spots are up for grabs, with seven shots separating first from sixth. LSU, Wake Forest and Ole Miss have some ground to make up, but one of them could find their way to Grayhawk if one of those top teams struggle in the final round.

Salem regional

Team leader: Arkansas (39 under)

Individual leader: Ryan Burnett, North Carolina (13 under)

If the cut were today: 1. Arkansas; 2. Georgia Tech; T-3. New Mexico, North Carolina; 5. Northern Illinois

The hook: Arkansas and Georgia Tech are well in front of the field, leaving three spots truly up for grabs come Wednesday. 12th-seeded Northern Illinois remains inside by five shots over five seed Georgia Southern, and New Mexico and North Carolina are only two in front of NIU.

What to watch for Wednesday: One would expect top-seeded North Carolina to find its way through Wednesday, meaning two spots should be up for grabs in Salem. And there are three teams who are in the hunt unless another emerges, so who’s going to be left out.

Story originally appeared on GolfWeek