For the USF men's golf team, the season's defining moment was actually hard to stomach.

On April 23, with the Bulls bearing down on the program's second consecutive American Athletic Conference Tournament championship, momentum slipped away and the Charlotte 49ers emerged victorious after two playoff holes at Sarasota's Ritz-Carlton Members Club.

"The disappointment of not winning the conference, it gave us a certain resolve,'' said Jake Peacock, USF's top player and two-time AAC individual medalist.

"Watching those guys from Charlotte lift the conference trophy, it lit a fire for sure,'' USF senior Shubham Jaglan said.

"It was pretty dark,'' head coach Steve Bradley said. "It took us a while to emerge from it. That was probably one of the more disappointing, if not the most disappointing, feeling I've had in my coaching career. Charlotte played great, I think we played pretty good as well, but I do feel like we we let that one slip away. And you know, winning is hard in any sport.''

The lesson was learned.

When the Bulls were selected for the NCAA Regionals at Bremerton, Wash., they were tied for seventh heading to the final round, two shots from the cut line. They responded with the season's most clutch round (278, 10-under-par, the regional's low mark in Round Three) to climb into fourth place and qualify for USF's fifth bid to the NCAA Championships.

"It was a really nice icing on the cake for our guys,'' Bradley said.

The Bulls finished in 25th place at Carlsbad, Calif. Although USF was never in serious contention, just getting to the pinnacle of NCAA men's golf provided a confidence boost.

"Everything happens for a reason,'' Bradley said. "It doesn't matter whether you win conference and get an AQ (automatic qualifier) to regionals or you're one of the at-large teams. When you get to regionals, everyone starts from scratch again and you have to go prove yourself.

"It was an extra motivating factor at regionals. Going into that final day, they didn't want that to be their final round, so they delivered in a big way. Everybody stepped up. The night before, we talked about how all five guys had to come out and play. Regardless of what was going on around them, the only thing they could control was what was going on around them.''

Down the stretch, the Bulls played the final eight holes at 7-under-par.

"Everyone is nervous in those situations,'' Bradley said. "Regardless of what logo you're wearing, where you're from or what kind of junior record you had, you're fighting for yourself, you're fighting for your team and everyone has nerves.

"We earned our way in. I was extremely proud of them and so happy with the way it finished.''

Peacock had a birdie on the 18th hole and finished 2-under-par overall for 12th place. Wilhelm Ryding played bogey-free golf and carded a final-round 66 to finish in a tie for 27th (3-over-par), along with Nino Palmquist (final-round 68). Jaglan's final-round 71 put him at 1-under-par (tied for 16th). Cooper Smith was tied for 52nd (final-round 76).

"It has been a great year,'' Peacock said. "We definitely had more fuel to our fire after making it to regionals last year and coming up a few short (of the NCAA Championships). We played a lot of steady golf this year and we've been in the winner's circle.

"Coming up short at conference definitely stung and hurt the soul for all of us. But it gave us fire in the belly for regionals. Our guys played their absolute hearts out. So my very first time (to the NCAA Championships) in my last year, it was truly special for this program and I couldn't be prouder of all of our guys.''

Jaglan (71.09 stroke average) and Ryding (71.69), teammates who tied for fourth at the AAC Tournament, earned All-ACC honors. Peacock (70.57, fifth all-time at USF for a season) repeated as AAC Player of the Year and received his third All-ACC selection.

"Jake is one of the best we've ever had here at USF,'' Bradley said. "He won four tournaments to tie for the most career wins with Chase Koepka (a USF Athletic Hall of Famer) and Jake has only been here three years.

"Jake has so much personality and a lot of confidence in his ability. The thing that never wavered was his ability to putt and his ball-striking. Add in the mental maturity that he has developed and I believe he has put himself in position to continue doing great things in this game.''

Overall, Bradley said each of the USF players contributed to the team goals and he described it as "probably the closest team I've ever had.''

"Between the camaraderie and the genuine closeness they have — as well as their competitive fire — this team was pretty darn special,'' Bradley said. "This team deserved everything it accomplished.''
About USF Men's Golf
Follow USF men's golf on social media (X / Instagram / Facebook) and visit https://gousfbulls.com/sports/mens-golf  for the most up-to-date information. 

The USF men's golf program has captured 19 conference titles and has seen players earn 19 All-America honors. The Bulls have won six American Athletic Conference Tournament championships in wire-to-wire fashion, winning four consecutive from 2015-18. The Bulls have had six individual conference champions, including Jake Peacock in both 2024 and 2025. They went to nine straight NCAA Regional appearances from 2013-2022, including a 6th place finish in NCAA Championship match-play in 2015. USF is led by Steve Bradley, who has been named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year five times since taking over the program in 2014. The Bulls have posted 25 tournament wins under Bradley including three in the 2023-24 season, by far the most under any coach in program history.
 
– #GoBulls –