Little Rock Set For First-Ever NCAA Championship Appearance

2021 NCAA Championship
Dates	Fri., May 28 - Wed., June 2
Format	54 hole stroke play for all 30 teams Friday through Sunday Top 15 advance to fourth round on Monday Top eight advance to match play Tuesday and Wednesday
Times	Morning Wave - Tee times beginning at 8:10 a.m. CT Afternoon wave - Tee times beginning at 1:30 p.m. CT
Location	Scottsdale, Ariz.
Course	Grayhawk Golf Club
Teams (Seed)	Florida State (1), Oklahoma (2), Oklahoma State (3), Clemson (4), Texas (5), North Carolina (6), Wake Forest (7), Illinois (8), Pepperdine (9), Arizona State (10) (host), Vanderbilt (11), Georgia (12), NC State (13), Tennessee (14), Liberty (15), SMU (16), San Francisco (17), Florida (18), Texas Tech (19), Arkansas (20), San Diego State (21), Georgia Tech (22), Louisville (23), Sam Houston (24), Oregon State (25), UAB (26), TCU (27), East Tennessee (28), Little Rock (29), San Diego (30)
Scoring	GolfStat.com
Information	NCAA Championship Central

2021 Little Rock Men's Golf Statistics (PDF)

Opening Tee
Little Rock is set to compete in its first-ever NCAA Championship, taking place May 28 – June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
 
Stillwater Comeback
Little Rock advanced to the NCAA Championship following an incredible comeback at the NCAA Stillwater Regional May 17-18. Little Rock entered the final round in eighth-place and found itself six shots back of the coveted fifth spot with five holes to play. A pair of birdies from Anton Albers and one each from the other three scoring Trojans over the next four holes brought Little Rock to within three shots with one hole to go. Needing a mini miracle, the Trojans hit clutch shot after clutch shot on 18 as all five players birdied the par-five, capped by a five-foot putt by Magnus Lomholt to secure Little Rock's first-ever NCAA Championship berth. The Trojans finished 7-under over the final five holes with just one bogey by the four counting scores, besting both Auburn and Baylor by one shot to secure the bid to Arizona.
 
Regional Recap
The dramatic finish over the home stretch in round three propelled Little Rock to the fifth-place finish at the NCAA Stillwater Regional at Karsten Creek Golf Club on May 17-18. The Trojans posted a 15-over 879, finishing four shots back of fourth-place Sam Houston (11-over 875) and one shot better than both Auburn and Baylor's 16-over 880. Individually, the Trojans were led by Anton Albers tying for 10th at 1-under 215, including a first-round 68, while Magnus Lomholt tied for 14th at 1-over 217, carding a 69 in round one.
 
Little Rock NCAA Records
Little Rock set a number of program records in NCAA events during the Stillwater Regional, including best team finish at fifth. The Trojans' 54-hole total of 879 bested the previous mark of 881, set at the 2000 NCAA Championships, while the low round of 290 in round one is the second-best single-round total behind the 285 in round three of 2000. Individually, Anton Albers' 215 is the new low tournament score in program NCAA history while his 68 in round one is the new single round total as he and Magnus Lomholt became the first two players to both register rounds in the 60s as well as finish among the individual top-20.
 
Tournament Information
The 2021 NCAA Championship will be held May 28 – June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, a par-70 course measuring 7,289 yards. The tournament will be broken up into three different subsets, beginning with a 54-hole stroke play tournament from May 28 – 30 featuring all 30 participating teams. After the conclusion of 54 holes, the field will be narrowed to the top 15 teams, who will play a fourth round on Monday, May 31. Following the conclusion of 72 holes, the top-eight teams will advance to a match play championship with the quarterfinals and semifinals being held on Tuesday, June 1 and the championship match on Wednesday, June 2.
 
Championship Field
The top five teams from all six NCAA regionals advanced to the NCAA Championship with Little Rock advancing as the number five team from the Stillwater Regional, along with Oklahoma State, Illinois, SMU and Sam Houston. Little Rock enters the championship as the number 29 overall seed and will begin with a 10 a.m. CT tee time (8 a.m. PT) from hole 10 on Friday, May 28, playing with East Tennessee State and San Diego.
 
Trojan Lineup
Little Rock will utilize the same lineup it did at both the Sun Belt Championship and the NCAA Stillwater Regional, anchored by first team All-Sun Belt golfer Anton Albers and third team selection Logan Pate with Magnus Lomholt, Nico Horder and Marcel Rauch rounding out the scorecard and Ryan McNelis making the trip as the alternate.
 

Golfer	Rds.	Strokes	Avg.	Low	Par-	10/20
Anton Albers	26	1,879	72.27	64	12	5/3
Logan Pate	26	1,910	73.46	66	5	4/0
Magnus Lomholt	24	1,775	73.96	69	7	1/3
Nico Horder	26	1,941	74.65	67	5	0/3
Marcel Rauch	11	833	75.73	67	2	1/1

Trojans in Arizona
Little Rock has become familiar with the desert southwest in the past few seasons as the Trojans will now play a tournament in Arizona for the third-straight season. Little Rock competed at the Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson in both 2019 and 2020 while its last trip to Scottsdale came in 2010, finishing 11th among 24 teams at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic.
 
Eyeing a Record
Little Rock enters the NCAA Championship as the number 47 program nationally, well within striking distance of an impressive program record. Little Rock's best team ranking was 56th in 2000-01, as the Trojans have finished among the top-100 six times in program history. Little Rock's best finish under head coach Jake Harrington was finishing 100th in 2018-19, followed by a number 101 finish in 2019-20.
 
Home Sweet Home
The trip to Scottsdale will be a meaningful one for head coach Jake Harrington as he will get to return to his roots. An Arizona native, Harrington played at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix for one season, then returned to SMCC as head coach for six seasons. During his time with the Cougars, he helped guide SMCC to the national tournament in four-straight seasons from 2010-13, earning national runner-up honors in 2011. The Cougars won four regional titles under Harrington and captured 41 tournament victories.
 
Albers, Pate Earn All-Sun Belt Honors
A strong season earned Little Rock a pair of All-Sun Belt honors as Anton Albers was named a first team all-conference selection while Logan Pate was tabbed a third-team honoree. Albers finished the regular season as the number three ranked golfer in the Sun Belt, boasting a 72.32 scoring average with 10 rounds of par-or-better and a pair of individual titles. Pate was second on the team with a 73.43 average and four top-10 individual finishes following the regular season, shooting par-or-better five times. The honors brings Little Rock's total to 33 All-Sun Belt honors among 20 different golfers.
 
Historic Year For Albers
The first team All-Sun Belt honors for Anton Albers was well deserved as he has put together one of the top seasons in program history. His 72.27 scoring average currently is the fifth-lowest in a season by a Trojan while his 12 par-or-better rounds is tied for 11th in a single season despite playing in just nine events. He has notched a pair of 64s on the year, tied for the lowest round in program history, and he became just the fourth golfer to win multiple individual tournaments, notching back-to-back tournament victories to start the spring season. He enters the NCAA Championship ranked 98th nationally, trying to become the fifth different Trojan to finish the year among the nation's top-100.
 
Pate Makes It Count
A little over one year ago, Logan Pate was facing the possibility his collegiate golfing career was abruptly over due to the cancellation of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Deciding to return for an extra season, Pate made it count by ranking second on the team with a 73.46 scoring average, en route to earning third team All-Sun Belt honors. He enters the NCAA Championship on the verge of playing the most career rounds as a Trojan (117), ranking fourth in program history in career-or-better rounds (37) and seventh in career scoring average (73.70).
 
Key Additions
Little Rock's additions of Nico Horder and Magnus Lomholt have been key reasons why the Trojans rank in the top-50 nationally. The duo have competed in all eight team events on the year for the Trojans with Lomholt posting a 73.96 scoring average and Horder adding a 74.65 mark. They have combined for 12 rounds of par-or-better and seven top-20 tournament finishes, led by Lomholt tying for fourth at the Little Rock Invitational and tying for 14th at the Stillwater Regional and Horder tying for 17th at the Sun Belt Championships at Mystic Creek.
 
Historic Home Event
Little Rock's 2020-21 season has been highlighted by the Trojans' team championship at its host event in October at Chenal Country Club. Little Rock shattered a number of program records, finishing at 35-under 829 to claim the team title, including a shooting 32-under over the final two rounds. Four Trojans finished in the top-20, including Magnus Lomholt tying for fourth, Marcel Rauch tying for seventh and Logan Pate tying for 10th.
 
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