May 26, 2024 • by Rick Nixon
Virginia moved into the team lead of the 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships after two rounds, leading by three strokes over Illinois at the midway point of stroke play on the North Course at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. Karl Vilips of Stanford turned in his second consecutive sterling round with a 4-under-par 68 to seize a five-stroke advantage with 36 holes to play in the chase for the individual title.
After all 30 teams shot over-par on Friday, Virginia was one of only three teams posting under-par rounds on Saturday, with the Cavaliers coming in at 1-under-par, 287.
Playing on a cool, overcast morning at La Costa, Virginia was fueled by solid rounds turned in by senior George Duangmanee, who posted his second consecutive round of 71, while sophomore Ben James also came in at 71, and Josh Duangmanee backed his older brother with a 72. It’s the first time in school history that Virginia has the team lead after two rounds of the NCAA Championship.
“We played very solid again for the second day in a row,” said Virginia Head Coach Bowen Sargent. “We’ve put up 10 good scores which is really important at a national championship. Ben and George both shot 1-under which is great playing and then we had a 72, a 73 and a 74 in there. We played really solid, kept the ball in play and kept the ball in the fairway, which is a focus of ours. They followed the game plan very well.”
“I thought I played pretty solid today,” said George Duangmanee, who at 2-under-par shares second place on the individual leaderboard with Adam Wallin of Ohio State, both trailing Vilips by five shots. “I hit it off the tee into position on the fairways, and from there you can attack the pins. It’s a ball striking golf course, so hitting the fairways is a big advantage out here. I’m happy with how the team has been playing. I haven’t been watching the scoreboard, so it’s a nice surprise to see us up where we are right now.”
The course is playing pretty hard, it is firm and fast
Virginia is the only team in the field to have posted just one score over bogey during the first two rounds. That came during Friday’s opening round when James carded a double-bogey six on the par-four 13th hole. Virginia did not post any score higher than bogey during Saturday’s second round.
“The course is playing pretty hard, it is firm and fast,” said James. “I hit my driver really good today and made some putts. I was able to get out of trouble. I made some good bogeys when I was in trouble. That’s kind of the key, to keep the doubles off the card. That was my one goal, to eliminate the big numbers. I did that and took my medicine when I had to and I capitalized when I hit it into some good spots.”
Illinois improved by six strokes on Saturday over its first-round showing of 293, shooting a 1-under-par, 287.
You’re out by the coast here, and yesterday it rained on the early wave. You don’t ever know.
“We were solid today, there’s not a coach here who would not be happy with that result,” said Illinois Head Coach Mike Small. “Theoretically, they say they give the better teams the early time because the course plays easier but the weather could change. You’re out by the coast here, and yesterday it rained on the early wave. You don’t ever know, so you just try to shoot the lowest score you can every round, the lowest score you can every hole and try to hit the best shot you can every shot.”
Vilips followed a 69 on Friday with a 68 on Saturday, jumping out of the gates with an eagle on No. 10 to open his round, shooting a 5-under 31 on the opening nine holes. He would go on to add four birdies on the day.
“I came out of the gates strong,” said Vilips, a native of Perth, Australia. “I was hitting the ball on the range this morning and transitioned well into that first nine (he started on the 10th). It’s obviously the tougher side and I shot 5-under on that side. I striped my driver down the middle on 10 and hit a really nice hybrid that got a pretty soft bounce on the green, then rolled in a 12-footer (for eagle) which was a great day to start the day.
"On my back nine, everything switched and I had some problems judging the wind. I couldn’t quite figure it out, but I was making sure I kept myself in some decent spots. I missed a few putts, missed a lot of greens on the back and didn’t hit it great, but my front nine saved me and put me in a good spot.”
Five strokes back of Vilips after 36 holes is Wallin, a senior from Timmele, Sweden. “Not the greatest start with the bogey on the first,” said Wallin, who is leading an Ohio State team currently at 12-over-par and in a tie for sixth place. “I kept fighting but I think I played a little too defensive today.”
It’s the national championship, and nerves are up and energy is up.
Best team round of the day and championship thus far was turned in by Vanderbilt, which carded a 2-under-par, 286.
“We were a lot better today,” said Head Coach Scott Limbaugh. “We found a little momentum on our second nine yesterday. It’s the national championship, and nerves are up and energy is up. I thought we settled in yesterday afternoon and we kind of carried that momentum over into today which was big. Obviously Gordon (Sargent) and Jackson (Van Paris) played really well today and lifted our team up.”
Sargent, who won the NCAA individual championship as a freshman in 2022, posted a 3-under-par 69 to fuel the Commodores’ strong round. “It was a lot cleaner than yesterday,” he said. “It was definitely tough yesterday and everyone’s first time seeing this golf course and figuring out what to expect. I feel like we did a good job as a team last night and we actually had a decent finish yesterday that gave us a little momentum. We kind of kept it rolling today. The golf course is definitely playing tough, but if you attack it the right way I think there are some birdies out there.”
“It’s a good golf course for him, it’s a ball strikers golf course, and he’s a good ball striker,” said Limbaugh of Sargent.
There’s no hole you can really say ‘I’m going to make a birdie here.’ That’s unusual.
Bowen Sargent, in his 20th season as head coach at Virginia, likes what he has seen from his team going into Sunday’s third-round. “This is what you have to do at a national championship. You have to play good one through five. You have to be on your toes every hole. There’s no hole you can really step on and say ‘I’m going to make a birdie here.’ That’s unusual. It’s a lot like Grayhawk (Scottsdale) in that it’s challenging, tough and plays firm and fast. You have to get the ball in play off the tee. You have to hit good second shots, and then you have to chip and putt well. It tests every part of your game.”
Georgia Tech's Christo Lamprecht, ranked No.5 in the National Collegiate Golf Rankings and No.1 in WAGR, shot 70 on day one but was forced to pull out of the second round with back soreness. This means the South African senior and reigning British Amateur champion cannot now win the NCAA Individual title, although he can return to the line-up for subsequent rounds.
It also means that Lamprecht cannot now overtake Stanford's Michael Thorbjornsen in PGA Tour U. To do so he needed to win at La Costa and the Cardinal to finish worse than in a two-way tie for 10th. Thorbjornsen will now claim the top spot and earn his PGA Tour card for the rest of 2024 and all of 2025.
The third-round of the NCAA DI championship will tee off on Sunday, May 26 at 6:40 a.m. PST, with the round determining which of the top 15 teams and nine individuals, not on an advancing team, advance to play the final day of 18 holes of stroke play (Monday, May 27) to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion.
The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, May 28, followed by the finals on Wednesday, May 29.