With a team score of 13-under this week, the Cavaliers thoroughly dismantled the layout of the University Club in Baton Rouge, La. and, in doing so, have fought their way into the NCAA Championships beginning Friday in Carlsbad, Calif. Virginia entered this week’s competition ranked No. 13 in the May 3 NCAA rankings and sought to prove themselves to that point following what was an up-and-down fifth-place performance at the ACC Championships.
The whole squad started Monday with a bang, as junior Deven Patel continued what has been an excellent season, leading the way with a monumental 67. Nobody in the entire field shot better than him in that first round, though all of his teammates shockingly clinged within the vicinity of that score. Sophomore Bryan Lee put his name high up on the individual leaderboard with a 70, while sophomore Ben James fired an even-par 72. The Duangmanee brothers followed similar paths, with freshman Josh Duangmanee shooting a 71 and senior George Duangmanee posting a 72.
Entering the second round, the Cavaliers found themselves atop the leaderboard in a field that featured, among others, first-ranked Auburn, 15th-ranked Texas Tech, 24th-ranked Oregon and 25th-ranked Duke. Fortunately, the pressure proved small for a Virginia squad that simply kept on hitting fairways and greens and making putts. Although only James improved on his first-round score — by one shot at that, carding a 71 — the team stuck around through some tough passages of play in windy conditions to maintain their position in the field.
Virginia’s hopes for a ticket to the National Championship then rested in the hands of a vital third round. With perhaps the best playing conditions seen all week, players rejected restrained play, attacking pins with aggression. However, with aggression came a tenuous grip on the first-place position that continued to slowly slip as the day progressed.
James began his round in a spectacular form to the extent of which only a player like him can reach, as he was five-under with just two holes to play. A double-bogey on 17 and a bogey on 18 left him with a still-terrific two-under 70 but left him and Cavalier fans around the country wanting just a little bit more.
The Duangmanee brothers both put together solid scores, with Josh Duangmanee undergoing a quiet yet solid round of 71 — he made just one bogey — and George Duangmanee quickly finding himself over par with a bogey on the first hole but being able to right the ship and put together a 70.
After scorching earth in the first round and maintaining a competitive score in the second, Patel’s tournament came to a disappointing close after he shot a 40 on the back nine en route to a final score of 76.
When all was said and done, the Cavaliers had put together a stellar day, posting a team score of 281 and finishing the tournament in second place. It turned out that not much could have been done to protect their first-place position, as Auburn put together an insurmountable 268 to run away with the lead and leave no doubt as to who the strongest team in the country is going into Carlsbad, Calif.
Fortunately for the Cavaliers, a second-place finish was more than enough to secure a spot in Friday’s season-culminating event at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, in which they will look to give Auburn — and other teams among the nation’s best — an even better run for their money. It will be Virginia’s 19th appearance in the NCAA Championships, and the Cavaliers will need to bring the sort of game shown this week if they want any chance of taking home their first team title.
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