The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Yale aims to host regional for 7th time
Wake Forest wins again in New Haven
NEW HAVEN — The last time the Wake Forest men’s golf team played in the NCAA Division I East Regional at Yale Golf Course, the Demon Deacons swept the top four spots and won the team competition by 28 strikes, according to longtime coach Jerry Haas.
Fast forward 18 years later to this week. Wake Forest wasn’t as dominant this time at the Yale GC, but led wire to wire and defeated North Carolina by eight strokes Wednesday.
“It’s good to get out of the gates and shoot 13-under the first day,” said Haas, who is brothers with former PGA Tour player Jay Haas, uncle to Bill Haas, currently on the PGA Tour, and is in his 25th season as head coach. “Those first two days, to be honest, it was pretty benign. A lot of drivers, pitches and chips. Everybody had to play it and we played it pretty well this week.”
Yale was hosting the regional for the sixth time (1991, 1995, 2004, 2010, 2015). It was the first time Yale coach Colin Sheehan had coached a team in the regional.
“I admire the athletic department for their willingness to consistently going after these regionals. We could be the only one in the entire Northeast that throws its hat into the ring.”
Derek Freeman, the UCLA men’s golf coach for 16 seasons, is also on the NCAA golf committee and was representing the NCAA at Yale this week. His Bruins qualified for the national championship the last time they were here in 2010.
Freeman said the bidding process for one of the six regionals nationwide is closed through 2026.
“(Yale) was probably a little bit more in championship shape in 2010. The greens were a little more firm and faster and the fairways were faster and more firm. That could have been because of the winter or spring (weather) leading up to it,” Freeman said. “It’s a wonderful golf course. It’s everything you want in a championship golf course. I know they have worked really hard to get the golf course into shape, battled the weather and the elements and doing a nice job getting it ready.”
Freeman said there is a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that is needed from each site to host such a regional. Some of that stuff includes: golf course preparation, the host hotel, volunteer base, food, water and amenities.
“All those things are extremely important, Freeman said. “They have done a really good job bringing out volunteer base. I don’t think they realized in the
beginning what the requirement was for that. But as the week has gone on, they have done a really good job of getting us the volunteers needed for live scoring, spotting, beverage and food management, all those areas critical to the success for a golf tournament.”
Peter Palacios, Yale’s general manager, said the “volunteer pool” was over 40 each day.
“We could not have asked for better weather,” Palacios said. ‘Coaches were very receptive with the golf course conditions. The rule officials we had were first-class all the way. All of the support team we had from the university.…In my eyes, it was an absolute success.”
Yale athletic director Vicky Chun was on site Wednesday and met some of the players’ families.
“With weather like this, a fantastic GM, Peter Palacios, an incredible Superintendent, Jeffrey Austin, and our “all hands on deck” athletic department, it has gone superbly well,” Chun said in an email requesting comment.
Wake Forest finished with a 54-hole total of 26under-par 814. North Carolina totaled 19-under 821, followed by Texas Tech and Northern Florida (824) and Georgia Southern (834). Those five advance to the national championship, which will be held at Grayhawk GC in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 27-June 4.
North Carolina’s Austin
Greaser shot a 10-under 200 total for medalist laurels, one stroke better than teammate Ryan Gerard and Alex Fitzpatrick from Wake Forest. Adrian Vagberg from VCU tied for sixth and was the low individual (those who competed without teams). Vagberg advances to the national championship and was three strokes better than UConn sophomore Caleb Manuel.
Sacred Heart, the NEC champion, finished last at 913. Yale was next at 879. Darren Lin and Blake Brantley tied for first for the Bulldogs (218).
“It was terrific to compete out there, a dream come true, a career goal, proud to be a part of this wonderful championship and we saw what the great teams do,” Sheehan said. “I’m proud of the faculty and proud of the athletic department for mobilizing this event. It is a prestigious championship. Better to be here licking our wounds than not be here at all.”
Yale announced in April of 2017 that it had received a bid for 2022. University athletics have gone through a handful of personnel changes since then, including Chun and Palacios.
Last September, Yale announced a complete course restoration project under renowned golf course architect Gil Hanse. Among his restoration projects is Southern Hills CC in Tulsa, Oklahoma, site of this week’s PGA
Championship.
The intent is restore the course to the original design that was created by Seth Raynor and Charles Blair Macdonald.
Although Yale did not make the price tag or the timetable public knowledge last September, a source indicated at the time it would cost approximately $25 million and begin no earlier than December.
“It’s typical of a restoration project of this size to be at least a year,” the source told Hearst Connecticut Media last September. “I know the course will be open until next December, so we have another year.”
Said Chun on Wednesday: ”We are still in the planning stages of the restoration project so future closure dates have not been confirmed. I am excited to say that our Yale Golf Course will be open this season and I look forward to seeing everyone at our course.”
Restoration projects like these normally take a year or more to complete.
So, when that project starts and finishes and if a seventh regional is in the offing right now is anybody’s guess. Chun is open to making another bid.
“Bidding to host an NCAA Regional is a detailed process which we are happy to do again,” Chun said.