Cavalier Golfers Open Play at NCAA Championships

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Charlottesville, VA — The Virginia men’s golf team opens play at the 2010 NCAA Championship Tuesday, June 1 at the par 72, 7,395-yard The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., near Chattanooga.

The Cavaliers, seeded 26th in the 30-team field, are paired with Penn State and Illinois during the first two rounds. The teams will start the tournament at 8:07 a.m. Tuesday from the 10th tee. Their second round is scheduled Wednesday for 1:17 p.m. from the first tee.

Following 54 holes of stroke play, the individual champion will be crowned and the field will be cut to the top eight teams which will compete in head-to-head match play to decide the team champion.

Live scoring is online at Golfstat.com.

2010 Virginia Men’s Golf Notes

The Virginia Lineup
Will Collins Jr. Salisbury, NC 72.31
Amory Davis Jr. Chadds Ford, PA 72.83
Ben Kohles So. Cary, NC 71.20
Henry Smart So. Epsom Surrey, England 72.45
Kyle Stough Sr. Laurel, MD 73.10

NCAA History
The 2010 NCAA Championships mark the 13th time the Cavaliers have earned a bid to the national tournament. It marks the third consecutive season Virginia has played at the NCAAs, the first time in school history that has ocurred. In 2008 the Cavaliers placed 26th at the NCAAs and were 27th last year. Former Virginia golfer Dixon Brooke won the NCAA individual crown in 1940, the second year of the championship. The Cavaliers finished 15th that year as a team. UVa’s best NCAA finish came in 1946 when the Cavaliers were 11th in an 18-team field.The last time the NCAA Championships was held at The Honors Course UVa’s Lewis Chitengwa placed seventh overall at 293, eight strokes behind medalist Tiger Woods.

One of 12
Virginia is one of 12 teams in this year’s 30-team field to make a third-consecutive trek to the NCAA Championships. That group includes: Arizona State, Florida, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Southern California, Stanford, Texas, Texas A & M, UCLA, Virginia and Washington.

ACC Honors
Virginia sophomore men’s golfer Ben Kohles (Cary, N.C.) was named the ACC Co-Player of the Year and Cavalier coach Bowen Sargent was selected the league’s Coach of the Year. Joining Kohles on the All-ACC squad was junior Will Collins (Salisbury, N.C.). Kohles is the first UVa golfer to receive ACC Player of the Year honors since Simon Cooke in 1996.

Tourney Wins
Virginia golfers have picked up four tournament wins this season. Ben Kohles has three of those while Amory Davis has won once. Kohles won UVa’s own Cavalier Classic in May. He opened the year with a first-place finish at the Maryland Intercollegiate and this spring won the Palmetto Intercollegiate. He becomes only the second UVa golfer to win three events in a single season. Jimmy Flippen took top honors at three tournaments during the 1991-92 season. Amory Davis was first at the UNCG Bridgestone Golf Collegiate last fall.

In the Rankings
Virginia is ranked No. 19 in the current Golfstat standings and is No. 22 in the Golfweek poll. UVa’s Ben Kohles is ranked No. 32 in the Golfweek individual standings and is No. 35 in the Golfstat poll.

Back to Where it All Began
This week’s NCAA Championships have special meaning for Cavalier senior Kyle Stough. He will be playing his final collegiate event at the same course where he teed it up to start his UVa career. In the fall of 2007, as a freshman, Stough placed 49th at the Scenic City Invitational held at The Honors Course. Virginia was 13th in the 17-team field. Stough had rounds of 79, 80 and 76 for a 54-hole total of 235.

Home Course Advantage?
Virginia head coach Bowen Sargent grew up in nearby Nashville and has played The Honors Course numerous times. His brother, Don, served as an assistant pro at the club from 1990 to 1992. Sargent has played The Honors Course at the Tennessee State Amateur, the U.S. Amateur and the Southern Amateur. His best round came in 1998 when he carded a 6-under 66 while playing with his father and the course’s greens superintendent. In 1991, while competing at the U.S. Amateur at The Honors Course, Sargent placed ahead of Tiger Woods, who failed to make the cut at the event. “You have to keep in mind,” Sargent said, “that he was only 14 years old at the time.”