Men's golf finishes 8th at NCAA Athens Regional

Wednesday, May 15

Athens, Ga.

8:25 a.m.

University of Memphis

2019 NCAA Regional

Brad Bawden narrowly missed advancing to the NCAA Championship Wednesday in Athens, Ga.

Photo by: American Athletic Conference

May 15, 2019 | Men's Golf

Athens Regional Team Results Athens Regional Player Results

Tigers, Bawden unable to advance to NCAA Championship

ATHENS, Ga. – Bradley Bawden fired a 1-under 70 and Nick Giles added an even-par 71, but the University of Memphis failed in its attempt Wednesday to advance to the NCAA Championship.

Playing in the final round of the NCAA Athens Regional, the Tigers shot 8-over 292 and finished eighth, three spots from qualifying for the championships, which will be held later this month in Fayetteville, Ark.

"We had our chances today, but small mistakes started adding up," Tigers coach Blake Smart said. "The boys fought all the way to the end and I'm proud of our season and particularly our postseason."

Host Georgia, the nation's 16^th-ranked program, won the regional by shooting 4-under 280 for a three-day total of 8-under 844. Ninth-ranked Duke finished second (851), fourth-ranked Vanderbilt was third (853), SMU of the American Athletic Conference was fourth (868) and 22^nd-ranked Liberty claimed the final championship berth with an 18-over 870.

Georgia's Davis Thompson was the individual champion by shooting three rounds in the 60s (69-69-67) for a total of 8-under 205. Vanderbilt's Will Gordon, ranked sixth nationally, was two strokes back at 207.

Memphis was paced by Bawden, who narrowly missed advancing to the NCAA Championship as an individual. Bawden's three-round total of 2-under 211 was one shot more than required to qualify for a playoff to compete for the only individual at-large berth available. Western Kentucky's Billy Tom Sargent earned the at-large spot on the third hole of the playoff.

Bawden finished his Tigers' career with another solid effort. His round included a birdie on No. 10 and an eagle on the par-5 17^th hole. He shot 2-under 34 on the back nine.

"Brad was so solid (and) to come that close to advancing as an individual is a great accomplishment," Smart said.

Nick Giles had the day's next-best round for the Tigers. Giles shot 71, one day after recording a 1-over 72. Chase Harris tied for 46^th with a 75 for 224, Isaiah Jackson finished 59^th (76 for 229) and Guillaume Chevalier was 62^nd, closing with an 80 for 231. Giles was two-under at the turn after birdies on Nos. 7 and 9, but dropped to even par with bogeys on 16 and 18.

"Chase and Brad have been great seniors and we are going to miss seeing them everyday," Smart said. "But they are forever part of the Tiger family."

The Tigers were competing in their first NCAA regional since 2016 and attempting to advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2012.

2019 NCAA Division 1 Men's Golf Championships

Event: NCAA Athens Regional
When: May 13-15
Where: University of Georgia Golf Course, Athens, Ga.
Champion: Georgia (8-under 844)
Memphis finish: 8^th of 13 teams (low five teams advanced to NCAA Championship)
Teams in the Field (in order of seed): Vanderbilt, Duke, Georgia, Liberty, Alabama, Tennessee, Campbell, Kentucky, Nevada, SMU, Memphis, UNC-Wilmington and Princeton.