Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raider Golf Advances To NCAA Match Play Round
May 28, 2018 | Men's Golf
HighlightsPost-round press conferencePhoto GalleryLeaderboardMatch Play pairingsFollow @TexasTechMGolf on Twitter
Tech, the No. 3 seed, will face Alabama on Tuesday
STILLWATER, Okla. – Powered by a late flurry in the final holes of the day, the Texas Tech men's golf team advanced to the match play portion of the NCAA Championships, in Stillwater, Okla.
The Red Raiders earned the No. 3 seed via their third-place finish in stroke play, the best performance in program history. Tech will face No. 6 Alabama in the quarterfinals, which will start at 7 a.m., off the No. 10 tee.
Should Tech win, the Red Raiders would play their semifinal match later in the day, against the winner of the match between Duke and Texas. The other side of the bracket features Oklahoma State—Texas A&M, and Oklahoma-Auburn.
Adam Blomme will face Lee Hodges first, then Ivan Ramirez will take on Davis Riley, followed by Kyle Hogan against Wilson Furr, Sandy Scott will face Davis Shore and Hurly Long will play Jonathan Hardee.
This marks Tech's second NCAA match play appearance in program history.
"I couldn't be more proud of every guy on this team," Tech head coach Greg Sands said. "To fight back again like that for the second-straight day, on a course like this, and in front of the big OSU crowds following us all day, was incredible. It's a dream come true to coach in match play. In 2010, we were extremely happy to make match play, and I'm not sure we were completely ready to go, but I think this group could do something special. They'll be ready to play."
For the second-straight day, the Red Raiders had issues with the front nine. Tech carded 15 over-par holes before Hurly Long got a birdie on No. 5. By then, the 13-shot cushion over the cut the Red Raiders started the day with, was erased.
After two more bogeys on No. 6, Tech eased the bleeding slightly with a pair of birdies on the par-3 seventh from Long and Ramirez.
From there, No. 8, one of the toughest holes on the course, slammed Tech with four bogeys. After that, Kyle Hogan made a brilliant eagle on No. 9, holing out from 100 yards out in the fairway. That shot got him back to 4-over, and made his score count toward the team tally.
Disaster struck again, however, on holes 10 and 11. Tech combined to go 8-over on those and suddenly found themselves at +14, and tied for eighth place, right on the cutline.
Like they did on Sunday, Tech caught fire late.
Hogan birdied the par-3 15th, Blomme birdied the par-5 14th, and Long got a birdie on 14 as well. Then, Ramirez laced a second shot within a few feet on 14 and drained his eagle putt to move Tech back up to +12, five shots clear of the cut.
From there, Ramirez birdied 15, Blomme made an unreal par on 17 after his drive went into the trees, and Long chipped in from the fairway to make birdie on 17. After all that, Tech was safely back in third, seven shots clear of the cut.
Blomme and Long birdied 18 to seal it, and the Red Raiders could finally exhale. The team, including Big 12 Player of the Year Fredrik Nilehn, who is out with an injury, came together just off the 18th green, congratulating one another.
Ramirez shot a 1-over 73 to finish the tournament at -5, tied for fourth. It's the best individual performance at an NCAA Championship in program history.
"The goal was to get to this point, and we knew with [Nilehn] out others were going to have to step up," Ramirez said. "I'm so glad we were able to do so and get to match play, where anything can happen. We played with Alabama on Sunday, and they have a very good team, a top-10 team in the nation. We are going to do the same thing we've been doing—have fun, and stick to what we know on this course. If we do our job, we can put ourselves in position to win."
Match play will feature five head-to-head 18-hole matchups, with the player that wins more holes getting the victory. The first team to three matchup wins will advance to the semifinals.
Golf Channel's coverage of the NCAA Quarterfinals begins at 10 a.m. CT. Fans can watch the Red Raiders live on the Golf Channel or via live stream at both golfchannel.com, and the Golf Channel app.
Golfstat will provide live scoring all week. For more news and updates on Texas Tech Men's Golf, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Red Raiders earned the No. 3 seed via their third-place finish in stroke play, the best performance in program history. Tech will face No. 6 Alabama in the quarterfinals, which will start at 7 a.m., off the No. 10 tee.
Should Tech win, the Red Raiders would play their semifinal match later in the day, against the winner of the match between Duke and Texas. The other side of the bracket features Oklahoma State—Texas A&M, and Oklahoma-Auburn.
The #NCAAGolf quarterfinals are set. No. 3 #TexasTech and No. 6 Alabama will face off tomorrow at 7 a.m. off the 10th tee!
— Texas Tech Men's Golf (@TexasTechMGolf) May 29, 2018
It'll be Adam ?? Ivan ?? Kyle ?? Sandy ?? Hurly. #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/B4SYM9ptDk
Adam Blomme will face Lee Hodges first, then Ivan Ramirez will take on Davis Riley, followed by Kyle Hogan against Wilson Furr, Sandy Scott will face Davis Shore and Hurly Long will play Jonathan Hardee.
This marks Tech's second NCAA match play appearance in program history.
"I couldn't be more proud of every guy on this team," Tech head coach Greg Sands said. "To fight back again like that for the second-straight day, on a course like this, and in front of the big OSU crowds following us all day, was incredible. It's a dream come true to coach in match play. In 2010, we were extremely happy to make match play, and I'm not sure we were completely ready to go, but I think this group could do something special. They'll be ready to play."
For the second-straight day, the Red Raiders had issues with the front nine. Tech carded 15 over-par holes before Hurly Long got a birdie on No. 5. By then, the 13-shot cushion over the cut the Red Raiders started the day with, was erased.
After two more bogeys on No. 6, Tech eased the bleeding slightly with a pair of birdies on the par-3 seventh from Long and Ramirez.
From there, No. 8, one of the toughest holes on the course, slammed Tech with four bogeys. After that, Kyle Hogan made a brilliant eagle on No. 9, holing out from 100 yards out in the fairway. That shot got him back to 4-over, and made his score count toward the team tally.
Disaster struck again, however, on holes 10 and 11. Tech combined to go 8-over on those and suddenly found themselves at +14, and tied for eighth place, right on the cutline.
Like they did on Sunday, Tech caught fire late.
Hogan birdied the par-3 15th, Blomme birdied the par-5 14th, and Long got a birdie on 14 as well. Then, Ramirez laced a second shot within a few feet on 14 and drained his eagle putt to move Tech back up to +12, five shots clear of the cut.
EAGLE!
— Texas Tech Men's Golf (@TexasTechMGolf) May 28, 2018
Ivan gets 3?? on 14, and now the Red Raiders (+10) are alone in third, seven shots inside the line! #WreckEm #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/hl4H2Z2iFu
From there, Ramirez birdied 15, Blomme made an unreal par on 17 after his drive went into the trees, and Long chipped in from the fairway to make birdie on 17. After all that, Tech was safely back in third, seven shots clear of the cut.
Blomme and Long birdied 18 to seal it, and the Red Raiders could finally exhale. The team, including Big 12 Player of the Year Fredrik Nilehn, who is out with an injury, came together just off the 18th green, congratulating one another.
3??rd place is our highest #NCAAGolf stroke play finish in program history! #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/F1Rh4Us0vs
— Texas Tech Men's Golf (@TexasTechMGolf) May 29, 2018
Ramirez shot a 1-over 73 to finish the tournament at -5, tied for fourth. It's the best individual performance at an NCAA Championship in program history.
"The goal was to get to this point, and we knew with [Nilehn] out others were going to have to step up," Ramirez said. "I'm so glad we were able to do so and get to match play, where anything can happen. We played with Alabama on Sunday, and they have a very good team, a top-10 team in the nation. We are going to do the same thing we've been doing—have fun, and stick to what we know on this course. If we do our job, we can put ourselves in position to win."
Match play will feature five head-to-head 18-hole matchups, with the player that wins more holes getting the victory. The first team to three matchup wins will advance to the semifinals.
Golf Channel's coverage of the NCAA Quarterfinals begins at 10 a.m. CT. Fans can watch the Red Raiders live on the Golf Channel or via live stream at both golfchannel.com, and the Golf Channel app.
Golfstat will provide live scoring all week. For more news and updates on Texas Tech Men's Golf, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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