The Golf Academy Club Golf Team has won its 2nd straight National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) Tournament, this time at the El Conquistador Golf Resort in Oro Valley just outside Tucson. The team erased a three-stroke deficit to win the six-team Desert Regional by 18 shots.
It also marks the 2nd consecutive event the GAA has trailed entering Sunday’s second and final round. The Academy trailed Grand Canyon University’s Club Team by three strokes following round one Saturday on the difficult Canada Course. Dan Bubany and Greg Newland led the way after posting identical rounds of 75 (+3) despite having never played the course. Only one other member of the team, Adam Breitenbucher (79), even broke 80.
Sunday’s final round on the more forgiving Conquistador Course was a completely different story. Playing with the tournament leaders, Bubany backed-up his round of 75 with a five-over par round of 76 to finish in a tie for 2nd place at 151 (+8) while Breitenbucher posted a score one shot better than yesterday to finish in 4th at 157 (+14).
The top five (of eight) scores each round count toward the team total, and the GAA scoring average for the ten posted scores was 78.8. The Academy also had four players in the 43-man field finish in the Top 10 and make the All Tournament Team. Here are the scores:
El Conquistador Golf Club/Canada Course/Black Tees/6,636 Yards/Par 72 (Saturday):
Dan Bubany (4th Semester) 39-36-75
Greg Newland (4th Semester) 39-36-75
Adam Breitenbucher (3rd Semester) 38-41-79
Craig Miller (4th Semester) 42-41-83
Devon Montoya (4th Semester) 45-41-86
Craig DeGroff (2nd Semester) 43-51-94
Tommy Martin (4th Semester) 51-43-94
Brian Schamber (4th Semester) 51-43-94
El Conquistador Golf Club/Conquistador Course/Black Tees/6,720 Yards/Par 71 (Sunday):
Dan Bubany 36-40-76
Adam Breitenbucher 36-42-78
Craig Miller 38-40-78
Tommy Martin 39-40-79
Devon Montoya 40-39-79
Brian Schamber 39-42-81
Greg Newland 45-39-84
Craig DeGroff 44-43-87
All Tournament Team (Medal Play)
T2 – Dan Bubany 75-76-151 (+8)
4th – Adam Breitenbucher 79-78-157 (+14)
6th – Greg Newland 75-84-159 (+16)
T8 – Craig Miller 83-78-161 (+18)
NCCGA Desert Regional Tournament Results (Team Totals)
1st – Golf Academy of America 398-390-788
2nd – Grand Canyon University (A) 396-410-806
3rd – Arizona State University (A) 412-400-812
4th – Arizona State University (B) 429-411-840
5th – Grand Canyon University (B) 464-458-922
6th – University of New Mexico 474-466-940
The Golf Academy Club Golf Team also won the NCCGA Desert Regional at Palm Valley Golf Club in Goodyear in September when it featured that tournament’s Top 3 finishers. Up next is a trip back up to Oakcreek Country Club in Sedona the weekend of the Masters, April 9th and 10th. In its first appearance at an NCCGA Tournament there last year, the Academy finished 2nd.
The NCCGA is a place for those who don’t or didn’t play varsity golf in college but who desire to continue competing. The program is run by NextGenGolf and sponsored by Srixon. More than 300 teams can be found at colleges and universities nationwide, with 1,500 club players active in the program in 27 different regions.
Congratulations to the GAA on an impressive repeat win! Use your sport psych tools on the next tournament and make it a three-peat. 🙂