USF Athletics

Fourth-Seeded Bulls Headed to Kissimmee for NCAA Regionals

May 02, 2018

NCAA RELEASE WITH SEEDINGS


By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, MAY 2, 2018 – No. 20 USF's journey to the final rounds of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship begins not too far from home.

Head coach Steve Bradley's fourth-seeded Bulls were one of 14 programs selected to compete in the Kissimmee, Fla., Regional that will take place Monday, May 14 through Wednesday, May 16 at Reunion Resort's Watson Course. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each of the six 54-hole regional tournaments advance to the championship rounds.

USF is making its sixth consecutive trip to NCAA Regionals after capturing the American Athletic Conference Championship title in wire-to-wire fashion for the fourth straight season. USF will be joined at the Kissimmee Regional by host and conference rival UCF, which is seeded 10^th in the 14-team field.

Senior Claudio Correa (Santiago, Chile) captured The American's individual title this spring and has been a part of USF's past three NCAA runs. Cristian DiMarco (Longwood, Fla.) is making his third NCAA postseason trip with the Bulls while fellow seniors Jimmy Jones (Tampa) and Priyanshu Singh (Delhi, India) will be making their second. Sophomore Kyle Flexsenhar (Lake Mary, Fla.) will be teeing off at NCAA Regionals for the first time.

Final rounds of the NCAA Championship will be played May 25-30 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. The Bulls will be looking to make the NCAA Championship rounds for the third time in the past four seasons after booking trips in 2015 and 2016.

Kissimmee Regional Field (By Seeding)
Vanderbilt, Florida, North Carolina, USF, Kent State, Arizona, Purdue, Colorado State, Saint Mary's (Calif.), UCF, Coastal Carolina, Jacksonville State, Georgetown and Central Connecticut State.
 
Quotable
Head coach Steve Bradley's thoughts on the Kissimmee Regional selection:
"It's a good region for us. We can be there in an hour and 20 minutes. We can take a car and we don't have to worry about the logistics of travel and different time zones. We're used to the heat, we're used to the type of grass and we've played the golf course a couple times. All in all, I think it worked out really well. We still need to go play really good golf to advance to NCAAs, but part of the fear of the unknown worked in our favor. I think overall we're pretty happy with where we're going."

Bradley on the course at Reunion Resort:
"We won on something similar in the fall. I think it's going to take a really low score to advance and that's something we have done. We shot 44-under par at Quail Valley and I think it's going to take another really low score to get through. It's something I know our guys are capable of doing."

Bradley on the benefit of having four of five players in the lineup with multiple seasons of NCAA Regional experience:
"I think it's huge. It's the most stressful tournament we play in all year and that's including the national championship. The pressure is to get to the national championship. The guys, between USF golf and what they play in the offseason on their own, I know they're up for the challenge. LSU's regional last year and not getting through was extremely painful. I also think it was a good learning lesson for the guys and good motivation they've used this year. I think it's a taste they don't want to taste again coming out of this region. I would expect us to handle ourselves a lot better than we did at LSU last year. I'm expecting us to play well. I want to win this thing and go into NCAAs on a really high, confident note."
 
Postseason Notables

• FOUR-PEAT: USF heads into NCAA Regionals with momentum after capturing the American Athletic Conference Championship crown in wire-to-wire fashion for the fourth straight season. USF won by 20 shots, which matched the tournament's largest margin of victory set by the Bulls' 2016 team.
• CORREA CAPTURES CROWN AT CONFERENCE: Senior Claudio Correa (Santiago, Chile) hoisted the conference tournament's individual trophy after posting a three-shot victory on April 24. Seniors Cristian DiMarco (Longwood, Fla.) and Jimmy Jones (Tampa) tied for second while fellow senior Priyanshu Singh (Delhi, India) tied for eighth place in the 50-player field at Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club's Copperhead Course.
• SEASON WINS RECORD MATCHED: USF has matched the program season record of five tournament title victories set by the 2014-15 team.
• SIX IN A ROW: USF will be making a trip to NCAA Regionals for the sixth consecutive season.
• ROAD TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP: The Bulls will be looking to advance to the NCAA Championship final rounds for the third time in the past four seasons. USF won the New Haven Regional in 2015 and advanced all the way to the NCAA Championship match play quarterfinals that spring, which was a first for the program. USF placed fourth at the Albuquerque, N.M., Regional in 2016 and finished 26th in stroke play at the NCAA Championship.
• NCAA REGIONAL SCHEDULE: NCAA Regionals take place Monday, May 14 through Wednesday, May 16. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each of the six 54-hole regional tournaments will advance to the championship rounds.
• REGIONAL LOCATIONS: The six regional sites include RALEIGH, N.C.: Lonnie Poole Golf Course; North Carolina State University, host; BRYAN, TEXAS: Traditions Club; Texas A&M University, host; COLUMBUS, OHIO: Scarlet Course/OSU Golf Course; Ohio State University, host; KISSIMMEE, FLA.: Reunion Resort; University of Central Florida, host; NORMAN, OKLA.: Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club; University of Oklahoma, host; and STOCKTON, CALIF.: The Reserve at Spanos Park; University of the Pacific, host.
• NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP DETAILS: The national championships will take place May 25-30 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.
• BATTLE-TESTED CORREA: Senior Claudio Correa will be making his fourth NCAA Regional run with the Bulls. Correa was in the lineup for both of USF's two NCAA Championship round appearances in 2015 and 2016. As a freshman, the Santiago, Chile native placed sixth at the end of stroke play in 2015.

About USF Men's Golf
USF men's golf returns six players from the 2016-17 team that captured the program's third consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship title. This season, head coach Steve Bradley guided the Bulls to their fourth straight conference tournament title in wire-to-wire fashion. The latest title victory helped USF match the program season wins record of five set in 2014-15. Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.