University of California Berkeley senior Max Homa took home the individual medalist honors at the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. Homa’s 9-under-par 201 and bogey-free final round of 4-under-par 66 gave Cal its first NCAA individual title.
In 2012, Homa finished T9 at the NCAA Championship. He leads Cal in all-time top-10 finishes at the NCAA tournament with two. Homa also won the individual title at the Pac-12 championship to lead Cal to its second consecutive Pac-12 title. In his AJGA career, Homa posted six top-10 finishes.
The University of Alabama Crimson Tide won their first NCAA men’s golf national title on June 2, defeating the University of Illinois, 4-1 in match play. All five players from the Crimson Tide’s match-play roster and four of the five players from the Fighting Illini’s roster, graduated from the AJGA.
Bobby Wyatt pushed Alabama to a big early lead, going 7-up through seven holes. The dominating performance culminated with a chip-in for birdie on the 13th hole, winning the match 6 and 5 over Illinois’ Trey Detry. This season, Wyatt posted five top-five finishes and a career total of 16 top-10s. Wyatt, a three-time AJGA champion and a two-time Rolex Junior All-American, ended his AJGA career at No. 1 in the Polo Golf Rankings.
Alabama’s second team point came with Trey Mullinax going 1-up on Charlie Danielson after a back-and-forth battle that ended with Mullinax’s par and Danielson’s bogey on the 18th hole. This season, Mullinax posted his first top-place finish at the Savannah Quarter Individual and holds four top-20 finishes in his collegiate career. As a junior, Mullinax finished in the top-10 in two out of three starts.
Illinois’ Thomas Pieters defeated Justin Thomas 1-up in a close match; Thomas never fell more than one point behind. This season, Thomas brought in two victories for a total of six in his collegiate career to set an Alabama record. Thomas had an impressive junior career as well: the three-time winner and two-time Rolex Junior All-American represented the United States at the 2010 Junior Ryder Cup.
The Crimson Tide’s third point came on the 16th hole when Scott Strohmeyer made par to win 3 and 2 over Brian Campbell. His best finish this season was T3 at the Aggie Invitational, bringing his career top-three total to three.
Minutes after Scott’s win on the 16th, Cory Whitsett halved the 16th against Alex Burge to stay at 4-up and win the championship-clinching team point. Whitsett, the 2012 and 2013 Elite 89 winner, led the Crimson Tide with a scoring average of 70.84 this season. He recorded two individual titles in 2013 to bring his career total to five. As a junior, Whitsett, a three-time Rolex Junior All-American, compiled four career AJGA wins and 19 top-5 finishes.
Matt Kuchar shot a 4-under-par 68 on June 2 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance, beating fellow AJGA alumnus Kevin Chappell to win with a 12-under-par 276. With this victory, Kuchar became the second multi-event winner in 2013.
Kuchar competed in AJGA events from 1994-1996, earning Rolex Junior All-America honors twice. He collected 6 top-10 performances, including a runner-up at the 1994 Bluegrass Junior Invitational.
Michael Putnam used the momentum from his victory last week to win the Mid-Atlantic Championship. Putnam shot a 2-under-par 68 to win the tournament at 7-under-par 273.
During his junior career, Putnam recorded four top-five finishes, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at the PING Langdon Farms Junior Classic in 2000 and 2001.