SMU Golfer Is NCAA Champion
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BRADENTON, Fla (SMU) – Junior Bryson DeChambeau became the first NCAA Individual Champion in the history of the SMU men’s golf program, winning by one stroke at 8-under after carding a 1-under 71 on Monday at the Concession Golf Club.
DeChambeau received both his national championship trophy and the Arnold Palmer Award for being the individual medalist at the NCAA Championship. The win is the third of his college career and second this season.
“It’s been unbelievable; it’s such an honor to win both of these awards.” DeChambeau said. “I could have never imagined this in a million years growing up. It was my dream growing up to win a big event, and for amateur golf this is a major. I’m honored to win, and I’m looking forward to being back next year.”
SMU started the final round on the back nine, and DeChambeau had an eventful first half of his day. He bogeyed holes 11 and 13, with an eagle on the par-4 12th hole in between. DeChambeau reached the 12th green in one shot, rolling his drive close to the cup on the 349-yard hole. DeChambeau then double-bogeyed the tricky 18th hole after hitting into the water on the right side of the fairway on his approach shot. The Clovis, California, native rebounded strongly on the front nine, shooting 3-under with no bogeys over the final stretch. DeChambeau moved to 8-under with a birdie on the par-4 eighth hole, sticking his approach shot to within four feet of the pin.
DeChambeau held off a number of challengers all day long, notably
Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan, who needed a birdie on his 18th hole to tie DeChambeau and force a playoff. Pan’s approach shot landed in the bunker on the front-right of the green. Pan’s birdie attempt from the bunker wound up going past the right lip of the cup.
Heading into the event, DeChambeau was confident that he could compete well against the nation’s best collegiate players. “I knew that I could do this coming into the week,” DeChambeau told Golf Channel’s Phil Parkin. “I knew my game was good enough, and I did it.”
The audience at the Concession Golf Club took notice of DeChambeau’s unique style and personality all week. His play on Monday to close out the NCAA Championship resonated the most with the crowd.
“For a player to go out and play those last nine holes in 3-under-par (like DeChambeau did); that is really impressive,” Golf Channel’s Charlie Rymer, a former All-American at Georgia Tech, said.
DeChambeau is SMU’s first individual NCAA champion in any sport since women’s swimmer Flavia Rigamonti won the 1,650-meter freestyle national title in 2005. DeChambeau is the first NCAA individual medalist from a Texas college since Justin Leonard won for the University of Texas in 1994.
SMU began its day with a sudden death playoff versus Washington for the 15th and final transition spot into the final round of stroke play. The Mustangs topped the Huskies on the first playoff hole, led by Austin Smotherman sticking a 4-iron from 225 yards within 10 feet of the pin.
The Mustangs moved up one spot as a team in the final round, jumping San Diego State for 14th. The result is SMU’s 11th top-15 national finish in program history. Smotherman posted SMU’s second-lowest score on Monday with a 3-over 75. Freshman Ben Baxter carded a 77, while sophomore Andrew Buchanan and junior Ryan Burgess scored 79 and 81, respectively.
In the past calendar year, DeChambeau has represented the United States twice — at the Palmer Cup in England and helping lead the USA to a win at the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship in Japan. DeChambeau reached the top 25 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and ended his season with five top-five finishes over his last six tournaments. DeChambeau described his future plans after the tournament.
“My goal is to make the Walker Cup,” DeChambeau said. “I would love to finish out school and get my physics degree, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
