NCAA: Freshman wins playoff that included grandson of Masters champion
Gordon Sargent won a four-man playoff to claim the NCAA individual men's title to join esteemed company.
Gordon Sargent became the first freshman since Jamie Lovemark in 2007 to claim the coveted NCAA individual men's championship.
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Sargent joins the list of esteemed company that includes Phil Mickelson, Ben Crenshaw and Curtis Strange in winning the title as a first-year student.
The championship went into a playoff and a birdie at the first extra hole saw Sargent beat Eugenio Chacarra, Parker Coody and Ryan Burnett.
Coody, in particular, is a name that you might be familiar with. He hit the headlines earlier in the year when he was involved in a freak accident.
Parker and his twin brother Pierceson both broke their arms in a boat accident. It hurt, of course, but the brothers both found the irony hilarious.
Later this year Parker hit the headlines again when he made not one, but two, hole-in-ones on an U.S. Open qualifier.
The Coodys are the grandchildren of the 1971 Masters champion Charles Coody.
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A moment for the ages. #AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/qjelNjMCYc
— Vanderbilt Men's Golf (@VandyMGolf) May 31, 2022
Sargent, 18, a Vanderbilt student was the 54-hole leader at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale and sneaked into the playoff despite shooting a 4-over round of 74.
The conditions were tough as none of the players who reached the four-way playoff broke par in the final round.
Coody and Burnett both shot level par, Chacarra a 72 and Gotterup also shot a 74 like the eventual champion.
"It definitely took a lot of patience out there," Sargent told the Golf Channel. "It was playing tough. I just kind of stuck to my game. Just a tough day and I managed expectations well."
Sargent is ranked 14th in the World Amateur Ranking and lived up to his reputation by stiffing his approach for a kick-in birdie in the playoff.
Burnett was the only other player to reach the green in two shots but left himself a 30-footer to try and extend the playoff beyond one hole.
Sargent said that while he was delighted to have won the individual tournament, "we all came here for a national championship team-wise."
He added: "I think you soak it in after this week. Still got work to do."
Image credit: Instagram/gordon_sargent3
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