STILLWATER, Okla. -- Augusta State defeated top-ranked and tournament host Oklahoma State, 3-2, Saturday afternoon in the Match Play Semifinals of the NCAA Championships at Karsten Creek Golf Club.
With the victory, the Jaguars will play Georgia tomorrow beginning at 1:00 p.m., (EST) for the National Championship.
In a rematch of last year's match play final at The Honors Course, ASU again come out on top in a thrilling match that sent the estimated 5,000-plus fans, nearly all clad in OSU orange, home disappointed.
"Just validation that this is one of the best teams out there," Gregory said of his squad's second consecutive victory over the Cowboys in match play. "That win last year wasn't a fluke. To beat them on their home track in front of all those fans is remarkable. This will be something they take with them forever."
ASU senior Carter Newman defeated OSU sophomore Sean Einhaus on the first extra hole, the par-5, 570-yard 14th, to give the Jags the clinching point of the match. Newman nearly reached the green in two and his eagle chipped rolled to within four feet. Einhaus needed two chips from the heavy rough near Newman to reach the green before sinking a 10-foot downhill par putt.
Newman, with the aid of assistant coach Kevin McPherson, lined up his four-foot birdie effort and drained the putt to win the match and secure the decisive point. With the victory, Newman avenged his 2-and-1 loss to Einhaus in last year's match play finals at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn.
Newman saved his best for when it mattered most. He holed a lob wedge for eagle on the short par-4 12th for a 1-up lead before losing the 14th. After Einhaus had seized the momentum by winning the par-4 16th to square the match, Newman pushed his drive on the par-4, 471-yard 17th into the right rough and his second shot come up short in the right rough. He wedged his approach 30 feet post the flag and after Einhaus had his par putt conceded, Newman dropped a 30-foot bomb to halve the hole and avoid going 1-down as the Jaguar faithful let a roar that resonated across Lake Louise.
The match then went to the par-5 18th hole, where both players went for the green in two. Newman came up just short on the upslope fronting the green while Einhaus' approach found the front bunker. Newman chipped his eagle attempt to five feet and Einhaus blasted out 20 feet past the flag. After OSU head coach Mike McGraw helped him get a read, Einhaus drained the birdie effort, leaving Newman with a putt to extend the match. He calmly stepped up and sank the putt, sending the match to extra holes.
"I didn't want to lose today. I did this for my teammates today," Newman said. "Our match was up and down and Sean played great all day. I can't believe I just did that. To beat them two years in a row is just incredible."
In the last match of the day, Jaguar junior Patrick Reed fired a front-nine, 5-under 31, and when he birdied the par-3 11th hole, he closed out U.S. Amateur champion and Hogan Award winner Peter Uihlein, 8-and-7.
Senior Henrik Norlander delivered the other win for ASU. He never trailed after the second hole against OSU's Kevin Tway and grabbed a 3-up lead with birdies on No. 11 and No. 12. After Tway answered with two birdies to win No. 14 and 15, Norlander responded with a birdie at the 16th and closed out the match with a par on the 17th for a 3-and-1 victory.
"What can you say about Patrick? He's the best amateur in the world at the moment," Norlander said of Reed. "If he just plays and stays patient, no one can beat him. He beat the U.S. Amateur Champion 8-and-7. That doesn't happen. He's so freakin' good it's not even funny."
The Cowboys' wins came from junior Morgan Hoffman, who held off ASU senior Mitch Krywulycz for a 1-up victory. OSU freshman Taylor Gooch jumped out to a big early lead and defeated Jags' senior Olle Bengtsson 7-and-5.
In Sunday's championship match, Bengtsson will face Georgia's Bryden MacPherson at 1:00 p.m. (EST), followed by Newman and T.J. Mitchell at 1:09, Krywulycz and Hudson Swafford at 1:18, Norlander and Russell Henley at 1:27, with Reed facing Harris English at 1:36.
In Saturday's first match, the fifth-seeded Bulldogs got wins from English (5-and-4), Henley (3-and-2) and MacPherson (2-and-1).
ASU is making its 12th appearance in the NCAA Championships in the last 19 years. Only a dozen other men's college golf programs in the nation can claim more appearances in that span than the Jags.
Tickets are $50 for an All-Session badge which covers all six days of competition. Any-session badges are available for $10. There is no charge for children 12 and under.
To view a video from today's round, Click Here.
Live scoring of the NCAA Championships is available at http://www.ncaa.com/content/division-i-mens-team-leaderboard.
For complete results and Sunday's tee times, visit http://www.ncaa.com/content/division-i-mens-team-leaderboard.
For a daily photo gallery, visit http://jaguarsroar.com/sports/mgolf/2010-11/photos/0015/index
To view the ASU Men's Golf postseason media guide, visit the following link: http://www.jaguarsroar.com/sports/mgolf/2010-11/files/NCAAChampionshipsMediaGuide.pdf
For complete coverage of the NCAA Championships, visit the following links: http://www.ncaa.com/sports/golf-men/d1
Augusta State captured the 2010 National Championship at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., in an epic final match with 10-time National Champion Oklahoma State. The Jaguars defeated the top three seeds in match play on consecutive days, dispatching Georgia Tech (3-2), Florida State (4-1) and OSU (3-1-1).
ASU's Mitch Krywulycz rallied for a 4-down deficit to stun the Cowboys' Kevin Tway in 19 holes and win the clinching point for the Jags. Henrik Norlander and Patrick Reed accounted for ASU's other points in the championship match and earned the Jags their first national title in any varsity sport.
NOTEWORTHY … ASU and Georgia played in two of the same events during the regular season, with UGA finishing ahead of the Jags both times but by a combined five shots … Georgia is making their second appearance in the match play portion of the championship and their first championship appearance … Texas A&M won the first NCAA Championships played under the current format in 2009 over Arkansas … Three of the eight teams who advanced to match play are from the state of Georgia (Georgia and Georgia Tech) … The ASU lineup of Krywulycz, Newman, Bengtsson, Reed and Norlander is playing together for just second time this season (NCAA Regionals was the other … Bengtsson played in four regular-season events, and was in the lineup on three occasions (Gifford Collegiate Championship, Battle at the Beach and Western Intercollegiate) … He played as an individual in the Insperity ASU Invitational (the Jags' home event), where he finished runnerup.
AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE ... Augusta State is the defending National Champion, but prior to their victory last June in the NCAA Championships, the Jaguars had made 11 appearances in the NCAA Championships in the last 18 years and was firmly established as one the nation's premiere college golf programs ... Since 1993 -- over the last 19 seasons -- only a dozen program nationwide can claim more trips to collegiate golf's grandest stage than ASU ... The Jags have qualified for the NCAA Regionals in 13 of the last 15 and 16 of the last 19 years ... This season, ASU made its fifth straight Regionals appearance ... The Jags enjoyed a stretch of eight consecutive trips to the NCAA Regionals from 1998-2005 ... From 2001 to 2005, the Jags registered four top-10 showings at the NCAA Championships -- seventh, fifth, seventh and 10th ... Prior to 2010, the Jags' fifth-place showing at Ohio State Golf Club's Scarlet Course in 2002 was the highest finish in school history at the NCAA Championships.
FOUR ... AND COUNTING ... Senior Henrik Norlander registered his fourth collegiate victory in the General Hackler Championship on March 14, 2011 at TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, S.C. ... Norlander fired a final-round, 5-under 67 as the Jaguars rallied from a 14-shot deficit to post a three-stroke win over Virginia ... As a junior, Norlander won the Jags' home event, the Administaff Augusta State Invitational, on April 4, 2010, with a 15-under 201 that included a final-round, 7-under 65, at Forest Hills Golf Club ... He captured two individual titles as a freshman in 2007-08.
IN THE BIG DANCE ... The Jaguars are making their 12th appearance in the NCAA Championships in the last 19 years, including its seventh in the last 11 years ... Only a dozen college golf programs have made more NCAA Championships appearances than ASU since 1993 ... The Jags' low team round in the NCAA Championships was a final-round, 3-under 281 in 2002 at Ohio State's Scarlet Course ... The best round by an ASU individual at the NCAA Championships has been a pair of 65's ... Sophomore Major Manning fired a 5-under 65 in the first round of the 2005 tourney at Caves Valley Golf Club ... Junior Jamie Elson shot a 7-under 65 in the second round of the 2001 Championships at Duke University Golf Club ... ASU's best individual finish was Elson's tie for second in 2001.
WHO EXACTLY IS AUGUSTA STATE? … ASU competes at the Division I level in men's and women's golf and participates at the Division II level in its nine other sports (men's and women's cross country, volleyball. men's and women's basketball, men's and women's tennis, softball and baseball) … ASU competed at the Division II level for 10 years, beginning in 1974, before joining the Big South Conference and gaining Division I status in the Fall of 1984 … The men's golf program has competed at the Division I level since then … When ASU returned to Division II and joined the Peach Belt Conference in the Fall of 1991, the men's golf program continued to compete at the Division I level as an independent under NCAA Bylaw 20.4.1.3 … The ASU women's golf program, which recently completed its 10th season with its second trip to the NCAA Regionals, competes in Division I as an independent as well.
UNDER JOSH GREGORY … ASU won the 2010 NCAA National Championship at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. … ASU has advanced to eight NCAA Regionals and five NCAA Championships … ASU has claimed 17 tournament titles -- the most under one coach in school history … ASU set a new school record for lowest stroke average (286.76) in 2009-10 … ASU has been ranked as high as No. 2 during the 2002-03 and 2009-10 seasons … ASU has produced 10 All-Americans, 14 All-South Region selections, seven Palmer Cup picks, five Cleveland Golf All-America Scholars, two Walker Cup and one Ryder Cup picks.
VETERANS OF THE POSTSEASON ... ASU's NCAA Championships lineup has a combined 73 rounds of postseason experience ... Henrik Norlander has played 22 total rounds at the NCAA Regionals and Championships, while Mitch Krywulycz has logged 21 rounds, Carter Newman has 15, Patrick Reed has 12 and Olle Bengtsson made his postseason debut at the NCAA Southeast Regional in Ocala, Fla.
NORLANDER NAMED TO EUROPEAN PALMER CUP SQUAD ... ASU's Henrik Norlander was selected on April 20 to play for represent Sweden and play for Team Europe in the 2011 Palmer Cup ... The selection marks the third straight for Norlander ... The annual Ryder Cup-style competition between collegiate golfers from the U.S., and their counterparts from Europe will be played June 9-11 at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn. ... With a 13-11 victory last summer at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland, the U.S. took a 7-6-1 lead in the all-time series ... A senior from Danderyd, Sweden, and the No. 14-ranked individual in the nation entering the postseason according to Golfweek, Norlander leads ASU with a 71.4 stroke average in 30 rounds over 10 tournaments ... He has tallied one victory this season at the General Hackler Championship on March 14 and has five top-10 and six top-20 finishes ... In 10 regular-season events (including the Western Refining College All-America Classic), his worst finish has been 25th ... With his selection, he is the seventh player to represent ASU in international amateur competition ... Previously, Robert Duck (England), Jamie Elson (England), Oliver Wilson (England), Kalle Edberg (Sweden), Scott Jamieson (Scotland) and Wallace Booth (Scotland) played for either Europe and/or Great Britain/Ireland in the Palmer Cup or Walker Cup.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR ... The Jaguars have a history of excelling with a combination of American and international standouts and this season is certainly no exception ... Of the Jags' 11-man roster, five players hail from outside the U.S. ... ASU has four Swedes (Olle Bengtsson, Jacob Carlsson, Henrik Norlander and Alex Wennstam) and an Aussie (Mitch Krywulycz) ... ASU's lineup for the NCAA Championships consists of two Georgians (Carter Newman and Patrick Reed), an Aussie (Krywulycz) and a pair of Swedes (Norlander and Bengtsson) ... In fact, of the six-pack of Americans on the Jags' roster, all six call the state of Georgia home.
JAGUARS ON TOUR ... ASU boasts an impressive collection of former players who are competing professionally around the world ... Most notably among the Jaguar alums are the PGA Tour's Vaughn Taylor and the European Tour's Oliver Wilson ... Taylor, a two-time winner on the Tour, was a member of the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team while Wilson made the European Ryder Cup squad in 2008 ... Wilson capped his amateur career by helping lead GB&I to victory in the 2003 Walker Cup at Ganton Golf Club in North Yorkshire, England ... ASU's first All-American, Richard Johnson, was a rookie on the PGA Tour in 2008 after graduating from the Nationwide Tour and winning the 2007 money title ... Former All-Americans Jamie Elson and Scott Jamieson are on the European Tour while another former All-American, Major Manning, is in his second season on the Nationwide Tour ... James Heath, Kalle Edberg and Wallace Booth compete on the European Challenge Tour.
113TH ANNUAL NCAA DIVISION I MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
Karsten Creek Golf Club
Stillwater, Okla.
Hosted by Oklahoma State University
May 31-June 5, 2011
TEAMS
(Seeded by the NCAA in the following order)
1. Oklahoma State
2. UCLA
3. Alabama
4. Georgia Tech
5. Florida
6. AUGUSTA STATE
7. San Diego State
8. Texas A&M
9. Illinois
10. LSU
11. Texas
12. Georgia
13. Iowa
14. Duke
15. Michigan
16. Southern California
17. Arkansas
18. California
19. San Diego
20. North Carolina State
21. Oklahoma
22. Arizona State
23. Ohio State
24. Tennessee
25. Kent State
26. Kennesaw State
27. Pepperdine
28. Northwestern
29. Arizona
30. Colorado State
INDIVIDUALS
1. Jason Millard, Middle Tennessee State
2. Jace Long, Missouri
3. Lee Bedford, Wake Forest
4. Geoff Gonzalez, Cal Poly
5. Sebastian Soderberg, Coastal Carolina
6. Matt Hansen, UC Davis
