CARLSBAD, Calif. – Georgia Tech sophomore Hiroshi Tai survived a triple bogey on his 17th hole with a final par for a 1-under 71, and it was enough to win the NCAA men's golf title on Monday at La Costa.
It also helped the Yellow Jackets narrowly join the eight teams advancing to match play to compete for the team title.
Tai became the fourth Georgia Tech player to win the NCAA individual title, and the first since Troy Matteson in 2002. The victory earned him a trip to the Masters the next year.
Tai, who spent two years in the Singapore Navy before enrolling at Georgia Tech, finished at 3-under 285 for a one-stroke victory over five players.
Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent, last year's NCAA champion, and Virginia's Ben James were the last two players who had a chance to force a playoff, needing a birdie on the par-5 18th.
Both opted to hit 3-wood to ensure they didn't hit the water on the left, although neither had a chance to reach the green. Sargent was in a very difficult situation and was lucky to get a free drop because his feet were in the path of the car.
James missed his birdie attempt from 15 feet and shot 73. Sargent hit a wedge that came off the slope to 6 feet. His birdie hit the left edge of the cup and pulled away. He closed with a 72.
Tai had finished his round almost two hours earlier. He had led by as many as four strokes earlier that day, and then nearly blew it on the par-3 eighth, his second-to-last hole. From a bad lie in a bunker, he sent it well over the green and ended up with a triple bogey.
“I still had one more (hole) to play and everything to play for the team,” Tai said.
He spent time in the clubhouse checking out Tech's chances of taking eighth place and then headed to the range to prepare for a playoff that never happened.
Illinois' Tyler Goecke, Florida State's Luke Clanton and Auburn's Jackson Koivun, who won the Ben Hogan Award as the nation's top college golfer, each shot 71 to tie for second place.
Koivun, finishing on the par-4 ninth, made an approach that appeared to be about 10 feet behind the hole for a birdie chance. But he hit the top of the flagpole and crashed into a forward bunker. He shot within a foot and hit par.
Georgia Tech's other individual champions were Matteson, Charlie Yates (1934), and Watts Gunn (1927).
“Adding my name to that list is fantastic,” Tai said.
Georgia Tech earned the No. 8 seed by one stroke over Oklahoma, which had rallied to get into position. Ryder Cowan made double bogey on the 18th hole and Jase Summy made bogey. Florida was also in position until John DuBois bogeyed two of his last three holes and Ian Gilligan bogeyed three of his last four.
Illinois is the top seed in match play and opens against the Yellow Jackets. The other teams that qualified were Vanderbilt, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida State, Auburn and Ohio State.
The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played on Tuesday, followed by the championship game on Wednesday.
