SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The men’s individual national champion has been crowned, which means one thing: it’s time for match play.
Clemson senior Turk Pettit won the individual national title at the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship on Monday evening, signing for an even-par 70 to seal the deal at 7 under, one shot clear of 54-hole leader and Oklahoma State freshman Bo Jin.
Oklahoma State entered Monday’s final round of stroke play atop the leaderboard but fell back to second at even par for the week. Hosts Arizona State climbed from third to first to take the No. 1 seed at 3 under, followed by the Cowboys, Pepperdine (+5), Oklahoma (+10), Illinois (+14), Florida State (+16), Vanderbilt (+24) and North Carolina (+25).
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual
With the quarterfinals set to begin on Tuesday morning and the semifinals to follow, here’s a breakdown of the teams and matches competing for the team national championship (All Times Eastern).
- David Puig vs. Peter Fountain (10:10 a.m., 1st tee)
- Chun An Yu vs. Austin Hitt (10:20 a.m., 1st tee)
- Ryggs Johnston vs. Ryan Burnett (10:30 a.m., 1st tee)
- Mason Andersen vs. Ryan Gerard (10:40 a.m., 1st tee)
- Cameron Sisk vs. Austin Greaser (10:50 a.m., 1st tee)
The Sun Devils were one of just two teams under par during the final round – and the lone to be under par all four rounds – to climb into the No. 1 seed for match play. That’s good for Arizona State, right? Yes and no. The No. 1 seed has won the national title just once. That team was the 2018 Oklahoma State Cowboys, who were playing on their own Karsten Creek Golf Course. Slight advantage hosts.
But don’t count out the Tar Heels. North Carolina beat Arizona State by six shots earlier this season at the Prestige and will send out ACC champion Peter Fountain first, which could set the tone for an early upset. It is match player, after all.
- Aman Gupta vs. Reid Davenport (9:20 a.m., 10th tee)
- Brian Stark vs. Cole Sherwood (9:30 a.m., 10th tee)
- Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra vs. Michael Shears (9:40 a.m., 10th tee)
- Austin Eckroat vs. William Moll (9:50 a.m., 10th tee)
- Bo Jin vs. Matthew Riedel (10 a.m., 10th tee)
Both teams won their respective conferences earlier this season. If you’re looking for the match to watch, look no further than the four slot featuring Eckroat vs. Moll, two top-tier players who are sure to excite in a match-play setting.
- Dylan Menante vs. Frederik Kjettrup (9:20 a.m., 10th tee)
- Clay Feagler vs. Vincent Norrman (9:30 a.m., 10th tee)
- Joe Highsmith vs. Cole Anderson (9:40 a.m., 10th tee)
- William Mouw vs. John Pak (9:50 a.m., 10th tee)
- Joey Vrzich vs. Brett Roberts (10 a.m., 10th tee)
The Waves rode the round of the day – a 9-under 271 – six spots up the leaderboard and will square off against Florida State, the No. 1 seed entering stroke play this week. A battle of Walker Cup teammates, Mouw vs. Pak will be must-see action.
- Jonathan Brightwell vs. Giovanni Tadiotto (10:10 a.m., 10th tee)
- Patrick Welch vs. Adrien Dumont de Chassart (10:20 a.m., 10th tee)
- Logan McAllister vs. Jerry Ji (10:30 a.m., 10th tee)
- Quade Cummins vs. Tommy Kuhl (10:40 a.m., 10th tee)
- Ben Lorenz vs. Michael Feagles (10:50 a.m., 10th tee)
Oklahoma not only has depth and match-play experience on its side, but also fared 15 shots better than Illinois the one time they met this year at the National Invitational Tournament at Tucson National. If it comes down to the final match between Lorenz and Feagles (two Phoenix-area natives), don’t be surprised if the grad student Feagles delivers for the Illini.
