Razorbacks, Wolves secure No. 6 seeds in golf regionals

FAYETTEVILLE — The state of Arkansas’ conference champion men’s golf teams are headed in different directions as No. 6 seeds for NCAA regionals May 13-15.

The University of Arkansas was selected to play in the Austin Regional at the University of Texas Golf Club, while Arkansas State University was bracketed in the Louisville Regional to be played at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Ky.

The NCAA Tournament pairings were announced on the Golf Channel on Wednesday night.

The top five teams at each of the six NCAA regionals will advance to comprise the 30-team field at the NCAA Championships at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville on May 24-29.

The Razorbacks are coming off a 3½ to 1½ victory over Auburn to win the school’s second SEC championship, and its first since 1995.

Arkansas upset the top three seeds — No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 1 Auburn — during match play to claim the crown at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga.

“We’re definitely playing a lot better,” Arkansas Coach Brad McMakin said during an interview with the Golf Channel during the NCAA selection show. “We had a great week last week, and it should give us a lot of confidence going into the postseason.”

The top five seeds in Austin are No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Southern California, No. 3 Pepperdine, No. 4 Clemson and No. 5 TCU.

Arkansas went into match play at the SECs as the No. 7 seed. Freshman Julian Perico went 3-0 in match play, while junior Luis Garza had two victories before a draw in the victory over Auburn. Juniors William Buhl and Tyson Reeder won two matches each at the SEC championships.

The Red Wolves will be matched up against the tournament’s top seed and defending national champion Oklahoma State.

“I’ve been looking forward to this all day, to find out where we were going to go,” ASU Coach Mike Hagen said. “I knew we’d have a good seed. I was hoping we’d get a good draw, obviously. To see your name go up there and see all the kids and all the people who came out to support us, we had the biggest crowd I think on the TV. It was neat to have them talk about us a little bit on the Golf Channel.”

The other top seeds in Louisville are No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 North Florida, No. 4 Louisville and No. 5 Baylor.

The Red Wolves are making their fifth appearance at the NCAAs and their first since 2002.

“Keep an eye on them,” said the Golf Channel’s Steve Burkowski, who called Arkansas State his top team to watch while referencing the Red Wolves peak of No. 17 in the national poll.

Arkansas State downed second-seeded Coastal Carolina and fourth-seeded Louisiana-Monroe as the No. 3 seed to claim its first Sun Belt Conference championship at the Raven Golf Club at Sandestin, Fla.

Juniors Zan Luka Stirn and Matthew Cole, and freshman Luka Naglic all won both their matches at the championships.

The Red Wolves also won the American South Conference title in 1989.