Men’s Golf Hangs on to Advance to the National Championship in Arkansas

Wednesday, May 15

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University of Louisville

NCAA Regional Championships

Mark Crabtree discusses next shot with Matthias Schmid

Men’s Golf Hangs on to Advance to the National Championship in Arkansas

May 15, 2019 | Men's Golf

Recap Video Team with Players -Final Team Leaders -Final

The Cardinals finished fourth at the Louisville Regional.

By: Rocco Gasparro

The University of Louisville men's golf team entered Wednesday's final round in fifth place, and they knew it needed a solid showing to earn one of five spots in the 13-team field to advance to the NCAA Championships next in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

While the Cardinals didn't play its best golf of the week on the par 71, 7,217-yard course, the Cardinals did enough to advance to their fourth national championship appearance. It will be the first appearance in the championship since 2016 when the Cardinals finished 14^th overall in Eugene, Oregon.

"As a coach, you preach that all year long about what it takes to be successful," head coach Mark Crabtree said. "You have to battle adversity, and overcome it. I saw these guys battle at another level today and that's what we need to do every day we go play. We faced a challenge and we won."

The Cardinals, who ended play at 7-over-par for the week, fired a 4-over 288 Wednesday to finish fourth overall, one shot ahead of fifth place North Florida.

Oklahoma State overcame an eight-shot deficit to win its 14^th regional title after shooting a 7-under-par on Wednesday. Auburn finished second at 10-under-par, while Baylor was third at 7-under-par for the three days.

Battling with each shot, the standings fluctuated back-and-forth, and the Cardinals' fate wasn't decided until junior John Murphy connected on a 10-foot birdie putt to send the Cardinals to the next round.

"I knew it was going to be an important putt," Murphy said. "It was getting kind of tense out there toward the end of the day so I knew that every shot would matter. It was a little bit of a roller coaster out there, but I'm so excited to be able to advance."

While Murphy's putt toward the end of the round was crucial, the Cardinals wouldn't have been in position to advance if it wasn't for the play of sophomore Matthias Schmid.

Playing in only his second regional, Schmid, who tied for 30^th last year in Columbus, finished second overall at 6-under-par, shooting 66-70-71=207 for the three-day event.

He shot even-par 71 on Wednesday to help the Cardinals maintain their standing for the week. He started the Cardinals off on the right foot with birdies on No. 13 and No. 17 to shoot 2-under on the back. However, the Maxhvette, Germany native was 2-over-par on the back, but did record a birdie on No. 4.

"I just tried to fight out there all day," Schmid said. "I didn't hit the ball well all week, but I just tried to grind it out there on every hole and try to make pars. It wasn't that difficult out there, but I really just tried to grind through it."

Murphy, who finished 57^th at the Columbus Regional last year, finished with a 2-under-par 211 to place in a tie for 13^th overall after shooting 70-69-72=211. The Kinsale, Ireland, native shot an even-par on the first nine holes, but made a couple of critical birdies down the stretch on No. 7 and No. 8.

Devin Morley played a critical role in the Cardinals' advancement with his 1-over-par 72 on the day. He finished the regional in a tie for 29^th place, firing a 71-74-72=217.

Jiri Zuska, who entered the day at +10, helped the Cardinals by firing a 2-over 73 to end the regional in a tie for 59^th place.

Simon Zach played for the first time this week and shot a 79 to round out the top five.

The Cardinals will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas, play at the national championship from May 23-29 at the Blessing Course on the campus of Arkansas.