No. 19 Men’s Golf preview: East Lake Cup – TexasSports.com

The Longhorns compete at East Lake Golf Club on Oct. 24-26 (Monday-Wednesday).
When: Monday, Oct. 24 – Wednesday, Oct. 26
Format: 18 holes of stroke play on Monday, Match Play on Tuesday and Wednesday
Where: East Lake Golf Club (Atlanta, Ga.)
Course Info: Par-72; 7,434 yards
Television: Golf Channel will provide live coverage on all three days (2-5 p.m. CT)
Stroke Play Scoring
Match Play Scoring

About the East Lake Cup: The eighth annual East Lake Cup features the four semifinalists from last year’s NCAA Championship (Texas, Arizona State, Vanderbilt and Pepperdine). Monday’s schedule features 18 holes of stroke play competition to determine an individual medalist and rank the teams for match play. Tuesday’s schedule features semifinal contests in Match Play format. Wednesday’s schedule includes the championship and consolation pairings in Match Play format.

Last Time Out: The Longhorns placed seventh at the Big 12 Match Play Championship (Oct. 17-19) in Hockley, Texas (The Clubs at Houston Oaks). Texas posted a 2-1-2 record during its five matches over the three-day tournament. The Longhorns dropped their opening match to K-State (4-2) and earned a 3-3 tie against TCU. UT then posted a 2-1-3 victory over Iowa State before claiming a 3-3 tie against Texas Tech. The Longhorns concluded the tourney with a 3-1-2 win over Baylor. Freshman Keaton Vo registered an impressive 4-0-1 individual mark during the event, while senior Travis Vick added a 3-1-1 record. Vick’s run at the tourney included a 3&2 victory against Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, who entered the event at No. 2 in the latest World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Defending National Champs: Texas claimed its fourth NCAA team title in program history last year with a dramatic 3-2 victory over tourney host Arizona State in the championship match on June 1 (Scottsdale, Ariz.). The Longhorns have captured NCAA team championships in 1971, 1972, 2012 and 2022.

15 Straight: UT’s streak of 15 consecutive NCAA Championship appearances is the longest current streak in NCAA Division I men’s golf. Here’s a look at the longest active NCAA Championship appearances entering the 2022-23 season.

Number of Consecutive NCAA Champ Appearances
School
15
TEXAS

11
Oklahoma
9
Oklahoma State
8
Vanderbilt
7
Arizona State

Advancing to Match Play: Not only has Texas been a consistent force in advancing to the NCAA Championships, the Longhorns have produced solid results while at the national championship. In the last 10 opportunities (dating back to the 2012 NCAA Championships), UT has advanced to the Match Play quarterfinals stage (final eight teams) a total of SEVEN times. Texas is the only school to advance to Match Play at least SEVEN times in the last 10 opportunities (2020 tourney was canceled due to COVID-19).

NCAA Match Play Appearances in Last 10 Tournaments (2012-22)
School
7 (2012-13-15-16-18-19-22)
TEXAS

6 (2016-17-18-19-21-22)
Oklahoma
6 (2014-17-18-19-21-22)
Oklahoma State
6 (2015-16-17-19-21-22)
Vanderbilt

The Fields Factor: Beginning his 26th season as head coach at Texas, John Fields has guided the Longhorns to 20 NCAA Championship appearances in his 24 opportunities (no NCAA tourney in 2020 due to COVID-19). Under Fields’ leadership, UT has posted 10 top-five finishes at the NCAA Championship, including NCAA team titles in 2012 and 2022 and runner-up showings in 2016 and 2019. Prior to his time at Texas, Fields led the University of New Mexico to nine NCAA Championship appearances in 10 seasons (1988-97). Fields was named Golfweek’s Men’s National Coach of the Year last season for the third time during his time in Austin (2012, 2016 and 2022). He also has claimed Big 12 Coach of the Year accolades nine times during his 25-year tenure at Texas (2002, 2003, 2004, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2022).

The Texas Lineup: UT will be represented by the following five players at the East Lake Cup:

Inside the Texas Lineup

Travis Vick: No. 11 in current World Amateur Golf Rankings (Oct. 19) … No. 6 in the current PGA TOUR University class of 2023 rankings (Oct. 19) … three-time All-American … low amateur at the 2022 U.S. Open (70-69-76-73=288, +8) … semifinalist at the 2022 Western Amateur … one of 12 men’s players who competed for the American squad at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup (July 1-3 in Vandoeuvres, Switzerland) … posted a 3-1-1 individual record at the Big 12 Match Play Championship (Oct. 17-19) … earned a 3&2 win against Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg (ranked No. 2 in WAGR) at Big 12 Match Play … placed ninth at The Stephens Cup (Oct. 10-12) at 6-under-par 210 (69-72-69) … claimed a 1-up victory over Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen (ranked No. 5 in WAGR) during the third-place match at The Stephens Cup … earned second-team All-America honors during his junior season in 2022 (Golfweek, GCAA) … posted a team-best 70.84 stroke average and registered three top-five, six top-10 and nine top-20 individual finishes in 12 stroke-play events during the 2021-22 season … went 2-1 during the 2022 NCAA Match Play, including a 4&3 win over Reid Davenport (Vanderbilt) in the semifinals and registered the clinching 1-up victory against Arizona State’s Cameron Sisk in the final … collegiate-best second-place individual finish at the 2022 NCAA Norman Regional (May 16-18) at 10-under-par 206 (67-67-72) … semifinalist at the 2021 U.S. Amateur … 2021 honorable mention All-American (Golfweek, GCAA) … 2020 honorable mention All-American (Golfweek).

Christiaan Maas: No. 33 in current World Amateur Golf Rankings … No. 1-ranked junior in South Africa and a member of the Golf RSA National squad … posted a 3-2 individual record at the Big 12 Match Play Championship (Oct. 17-19) … in his second collegiate tournament, tied for third at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 3-4) with a 6-under-par 204 (70-67-67) … finished 12th at The Stephens Cup (Oct. 10-12) at 4-under-par 212 (69-71-72) … in his collegiate debut, tied for 20th at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational (Sept. 16-18) at 4-over-par 214 (72-72-70) … competed for South Africa in the prestigious 2022 World Amateur Team Championship (Aug. 31-Sept. 3) in Paris … advanced to Match Play at the 2022 U.S. Amateur … tied for 11th in stroke play at the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur … claimed a five-shot victory (65-70-67-68=270, -14) to win the prestigious Brabazon Trophy at Saunton Golf Club in England in May 2022 … posted six wins during the 2021 season, including the Cape Province Open and the South African Amateur Championship … 2020 and 2021 Silver Salver Champion.

Keaton Vo: Has competed in each of UT’s first four fall tournaments … posted a 4-0-1 individual record at the Big 12 Match Play Championship (Oct. 17-19) … medalist at the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur with a 36-hole score of 9-under-par 134 (69-65) … 2022 Texas Class 5A state individual champion and led Anderson High School to the team championship … tabbed the No. 1 recruit in the state of Texas and No. 7 nationally by the AJGA in the class of 2022 … three-time Rolex Junior All-American … member of the West Team at the 2020 Wyndham Cup … registered seven top-10 finishes on the AJGA Tour, including a tie for second at the 2021 Jackie Burke Invitational … won individual titles at the 2020 George Hannon Junior Invitational and the 2019 AJGA Junior All-Star Invitational at Lake Oconee.

Mason Nome: No. 111 in current World Amateur Golf Rankings … No. 39 in the current PGA TOUR University class of 2023 rankings (Oct. 19) … posted a 2&1 victory against Stanford’s Barclay Brown during the third-place match at The Stephens Cup (Oct. 12) … 2022 PING All-Central Region team selection … posted a 72.05 stroke average and registered four top-10 and six top-20 individual finishes in 12 stroke-play events during the 2021-22 season … went 1-1-1 during the 2022 NCAA Match Play, including the clinching 2-up win over Jonas Baumgartner (Oklahoma State) in the quarterfinals … posted a season-best tie for sixth place at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational (April 2-3) at 9-under-par 207 (69-68-70) … equaled his season-best finish with a tie for sixth at the Big 12 Championship (April 25-27) at 3-under-par 213 (72-70-71) … named to the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team … posted a perfect 5-0-0 individual record at the 2021 Big 12 Match Play Championship (Oct. 11-13) … … recorded a hole-in-hole during the final round of the 2022 Arizona N.I.T. (March 19) on hole 12 … advanced to Match Play at the 2021 U.S. Amateur … two-time Academic All-Big 12 first-team selection (2021 and 2022) … 2020-21 Srixon/Cleveland Golf All-American Scholar.

Alejandro Gonzalez: Posted a 2-2-1 individual record at the Big 12 Match Play Championship (Oct. 17-19) … recorded a collegiate-best tie for 14th at the William H. Tucker (Sept. 23-24) at 2-under-par 214 (70-71-73), competing as an individual … registered a 74.33 stroke average and registered three top-30 individual finishes in eight stroke-play events during the 2021-22 season as a freshman … placed a season-best 16th at the Prestige Individual Invitational (Feb. 21-23) at 4-over-par 220 (68-79-73) … tied for 25th at the Border Olympics (Feb. 14-15) at 7-over-par 223 (77-74-72) … earned a 29th-place finish at the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate (Oct. 18-19) at 10-over-par 223 (73-73-77) … native of Queretaro, Mexico … posted two top-five finishes on the AJGA Tour in 2020, including a fifth-place result at the Visit Tallahassee Junior Championship in Tallahassee, Fla. in October 2020 … won the 2020 Legends Tour College Preview, the 2019 AAT Autumn Classic and the 2019 AAT Fall Break Open.

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