AMHERST, Va. – Tennessee men’s golf secured its second straight trip to the NCAA Championships after placing third overall at the NCAA Amherst Regional at Poplar Grove Golf Club, finishing 5-under for the week.
This marks the 20th appearance at the championship site for the Big Orange all time and third under the direction of head coach Brennan Webb. The Vols placed 10th overall last year and tied for 17th in 2021. The last time Tennessee reached the NCAA Championships in back-to-back seasons was during the 2010 and 2011 campaigns.
“I’m very proud of the guys,” Webb said. “They met the challenge of the most pressure-filled week of the year head on, with a championship mindset and winning-positive attitudes. It was a total team effort with all five guys contributing in major ways throughout the tournament.”
UT shot 1-under as a team during the third round, with three Vols recording below-par efforts, to secure the squad’s spot in Carlsbad, California. Tennessee will join 29 other teams at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa on May 23-28.
After a slow start to the round, redshirt junior Lance Simpson rebounded with an impressive showing on the final 14 holes, rolling in seven birdies to finish 4-under for the round. That performance moved him up the leaderboard 14 spots to a sixth-place finish (-3) for the week.
For the season, the Knoxville native has ended inside the top 10 four times, and he now boasts 24 rounds of par or better. It was also the second top-10 finish for Sampson at a regional site after he tied for ninth in Austin last season.
Junior Josh Hill tied for 14th thanks to a 1-under mark for both the final round and the week overall. He fired off a pair of under-par efforts throughout the tournament. Freshman Christian Pardue wasn’t far behind, tying for 17th with an even score for the week. During the third round, he shot 2-under to move up six spots on the leaderboard.
Jackson Herrington placed 30th overall behind a 4-over mark, while Bruce Murphy rounded things out tied for 49th at 9-over.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
1. Oklahoma, 830 (-10)
2. Vanderbilt, 834 (-6)
3. Tennessee, 835 (-5)
4. Wake Forest, 839 (-1)
5. Pepperdine, 849 (+9)
6. Arizona, 850 (+10)
7. Arkansas, 852 (+12)
8. Stanford, 853 (+13)
9. LSU, 854 (+14)
10. Kent State, 857 (+17)
11. Florida Gulf Coast, 861 (+21)
12. Princeton, 868 (+28)
13. Howard, 906 (+66)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
T6. Lance Simpson, 71-70-66—207 (-3)
T14. Josh Hill, 68-72-69—209 (-1)
T17. Christian Pardue, 66-76-68—210 (E)
T30. Jackson Herrington, 69-69-76—214 (+4)
T49. Bruce Murphy, 68-74-77—219 (+9)
