Virginia Men’s Golf Earns Repeat Appearance in Match Play at NCAA Championships

One year ago, Virginia men’s golf advanced to the match play stage of the NCAA Championships for the first time ever. This weekend in California, the Cavaliers did it again.

Behind a brilliant opening two rounds of stroke play, Virginia held on to secure its second-consecutive appearance in match play at the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships at the Omni La Costa Resort North Course in Carlsbad, California. The Cavaliers finished stroke play tied for third and qualified as one of the eight teams (out of 30 schools participating in the NCAA Championships) to advance to the match play bracket.

Virginia will be the No. 3 seed in match play and will take on Auburn in the quarterfinals on Tuesday starting at 10:40am (ET).

After the first round of stroke play, Virginia was tied with Arizona for the lead at 2-over 290 behind a one-under 71 round from George Duangmanee. Round two saw all five golfers shoot quality rounds, led by Ben James and George Duangmanee, who were both one-under for the day, helping the Cavaliers take sole possession of first place at 1-over 577. That marked the first time Virginia has ever been the leader at the halfway point of stroke play at the NCAA Championships.

Illinois used a 6-under 282 team round on Sunday to take the lead, while UVA sat in second at 4-over 868 entering the final day of stroke play. Ben James shot three-under in that third round, putting himself in contention for the individual NCAA title on Monday.

But Virginia experienced a slide on Monday, shooting 7-over 295 in the final round and ultimately finishing in a tie for third place with North Carolina at 11-over 1163. Vanderbilt placed second at +10 and Illinois took first at -6.

Still, the Cavaliers played well enough to keep their season alive and easily advance to the match play stage for the second-consecutive year.

“This is the second year in a row for us to make it to match play,” said UVA head coach Bowen Sargent. “It’s hard because there are so many good teams and so many good coaches and everyone is working hard. You do take a lot of pride in making it to the final eight.”

Ben James had a chance at the individual title down the stretch of his final round, but recorded pars on each of the final six holes and ultimately finished one stroke behind Georgia Tech’s Hiroshi Tai, who won the individual title. The runner-up finish by James was the second-best ever recorded by a UVA golfer, as Dixon Brooke won the individual title back in 1940.

George Duangmanee finished at 1-over 289, good for 15th place, while Josh Duangmanee was right behind him in 18th place at 2-over 290. Bryan Lee and Deven Patel both shot 12-over 300 and finished tied for 59th.

In 2023, Virginia fell to Florida 3-2 in the match play quarterfinals and the Gators went on to win the 2023 National Championship. Now, the Cavaliers will face a different SEC opponent, but a familiar one. Auburn entered the NCAA Championships as the No. 1 ranked team in the country after winning the Baton Rouge Regional by shooting -21, while Virginia took second at -13. The Tigers placed sixth in stroke place at the NCAA Championships, setting up the quarterfinal meeting with the Cavaliers on Tuesday morning.

See the matchups and tee times for the quarterfinal between Virginia and Auburn below:

Quarterfinal Match Play Lineups (will start on 10th Hole)
Josh Duangmanee (UVA) vs. Carson Bacha (AU) – 7:40 am PT
George Duangmanee (UVA) vs. Brendan Valdes (AU) – 7:50 am PT
Bryan Lee (UVA) vs. Josiah Gilbert (UA) – 8 am PT
Deven Patel (UVA) vs. Jackson Koivun (UA) – 8:10 am PT
Ben James (UVA) vs. J.M. Butler (UA) – 8:20 am PT

The winner of Virginia-Auburn will take on the winner of Vanderbilt-Ohio State in the semifinals of match play, which will also be played on Tuesday afternoon to determine who will advance to Wednesday’s championship final.

The Golf Channel will provide live coverage of Tuesday’s match play from 1-3:30 pm (ET) for the quarterfinals and from 6-10 pm (ET) for the semifinals.