West Virginia University Athletics

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University men's golf team was comfortably in this year's NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed in the San Diego Regional, the only uncomfortable part was having to wait until the final regional site was revealed on the Golf Channel to learn their destination.
 
The team watched today's NCAA Selection Show inside the Clark Mountaineer Club at the WVU Coliseum.
 
"I don't know why the Golf Channel had to make it so dramatic," coach Sean Covich, wiping away tears, said afterward. "It's a big moment and I'm just proud of the guys because we really had to fight, claw and scratch at the end of the season. They got it done."
 
It is the Mountaineers' third-ever regional appearance and their second since the revival of the program in 2016.
 
West Virginia qualified for NCAA regionals in 2019, finishing sixth at Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky, and in 1947, when WVU placed 47^th in a full field at Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
 
"We did this a couple of years ago and, man, it's so hard to do it again," Covich said. 'It really makes you appreciate it when you make it this far."
 
The spring season got off to a great start right out of the gate when West Virginia tied for seventh at The N.I.T. at Omni Tucson National Resort in Tucson, Arizona, Jan. 29-30, comfortably defeating several quality opponents.
 

"They got it started in Arizona, but really the whole spring was our turning point," Covich explained. "That was big because we went out there and beat teams like Stanford by as many shots as we did. We found ourselves, we moved up in the rankings, and that's pretty hard to do when you are coming out of Morgantown in January."
 
The Mountaineers also shot a season-best 18-under par at their home course Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport to easily win their 16-team invitational.
 
But it was their fifth-place performance at this year's Big 12 Championships at Whispering Pines Golf Club in Trinity, Texas, that put them over the top.
 
WVU jumped up to No. 58 in the national rankings after that performance to take them off the bubble and comfortably into this year's 81-team regional tournament.
 
WVU's season resume includes impressive tournament wins over No. 14 Texas Tech, No. 27 Stanford, No. 44 BYU, No. 49 Houston, No. 54 Utah, No. 61 N.C. State and No. 67 Kansas.
 
Junior Max Green, from Hilton Head, South Carolina, is the Mountaineers' top golfer ranked No. 126 in the latest Spikemark individual player rankings. He has shot a season-best 66 three times, including twice at the Dorado Beach Collegiate in Dorado, Puerto Rico, and once at Bridgeport to help West Virginia claim the Mountaineer Invitational.
 
Green said his teammates have really helped him along this year.
 
"This is our best team in a while and I've had to play really well throughout the whole year," Green said, noting his driver has been consistent all spring. "My putter has been hot and inside of 10 feet I've been pretty good this year."
 
"I always joke with him that he's the best worst golfer I've ever seen, meaning his bad shots are always pretty good," Covich said. "When he's unhappy with a shot it's usually still in the fairway, or 30-feet on the green and he two-putts for par. Other people, their bad shots they can't find them and they're walking back to the tee."
 
Sophomore Carson Kamman, ranked 318^th this week, won the Mountaineer Invitational but was the alternate when WVU placed fifth at Big 12s. The five-player lineup at the conference championships included Green, senior Jackson Davenport, juniors Pierce Grieve and Todd Duncan, and sophomore Kaleb Wilson.
 
Davenport, from Austin, Texas, is ranked 341^st.
 
"We all played steady out there and we all each kind of shot around the same number each round," Green said.
 
Covich indicated today that he is not sure which five players he will be taking to San Diego. 
 
"We've got a very competitive team so a lot of guys can help us," Covich noted.
 
Nine Big 12 teams qualified for this year's regionals, three others – No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 11 Kansas – joining West Virginia in San Diego.
 
No. 3-seeded Texas and No. 9 Houston will be playing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, No. 3 Texas, and No. 8 BYU will be playing in Austin, Texas, and No. 6 Baylor will be playing in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
 
Covich said his time from now until the tournament will be occupied by getting as much information as possible about The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
 
"As soon as we get done here, we will go back and look at the course on Google Earth and we'll start ordering the green maps and yardage books," he said. "I looked at it a little bit already and it looks like a classic country club course."
 
Unfortunately, the coaches Covich knows with knowledge of the course have teams there in this year's regional. "I don't know how much they will help us," Covich laughed.
 
"I know nothing about the course, and I've never been to California so it should be fun," Green added.
 
This year's NCAA regionals will take place at six different sites on May 13-15, consisting of 54 holes over three days to determine this year's 30-team national championship field. The top six individual players will also qualify for nationals.
 
The University of Texas will serve as host school for this year's NCAA Finals taking place Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, May 24-29, in Carlsbad, California.