Rohnert Park, Calif. - From May 6th-8th the Sonoma State men's golf team traveled to DuPont, Washington to compete in the NCAA Division II West/South Regional Tournament. The Seawolves entered the regional tournament as the #1 seed in the west region for the third time in the program's history and were able to secure three first place team finishes in their four spring tournaments to put themselves in great form for their regional appearance. Conditions were likely going to play a role in the three rounds of competition so the regional was truly up for grabs and it was going to take a team effort for the Seawolves to finish in the top-4 and move on to the National Championship.

"The conditions did not sit in our favor. The late start on the first day, harsh wind and rain in the afternoon made it a challenge. The same was applicable for the second round. The last round was just windy and much cooler but these are the conditions that we love. Our players never complain about these uncontrollable moments and welcome the challenge" (Verhunce, HC).

Round 1 saw an overall solid performance for the Seawolves as four of the five golfers for Sonoma State recorded a round under 75. Thomas Jenkins Jr. led the way with a 70(-2) round to put himself in the top-5 individually. SSU would finish the day t-4th with Western Washington at 291 a piece. Head coach Val Verhunce and his group would battle all day as they fell to outside the top 10 for part of the round before making a run into fourth place to end the day. Note, the top four teams at the end of the three rounds of the Regional Tournament would qualify for the National Championship so the Seawolves were in good position after day one to do just that. 
 

The weather and playing conditions really played a role for the entire field in the second round as wind gusts and slight rain played a factor all week. Despite a slight increase in SSU's team score after the second round, the Seawolves still found themselves in the mix heading into the third and final round. Sonoma State finished the second round with a team score of 299. Griffin Pace and Thomas Jenkins Jr. led the way in day two of the regional as they combined for a 2-over day. Jenkins finished even par and Pace led all Seawolf golfers with three birdies on the day to finish 74(+2). Freshman Nick Friedman also had a nice bounce back day for SSU as he recorded a 76(+4). Friedman was the lone freshman on the Seawolves squad this week and made his NCAA debut in his three rounds of regional competition.

Needing to leapfrog a couple of teams on the final day to get into the top-4, the Seawolves had some work to do and had control of their NCAA fate down the stretch. The front nine was arguably Sonoma State's most consistent 9 holes of golf as a team as three of the five golfers were even par or better after the front side. Jenkins led the way at (-3) while Devin Gregg and Griffin Pace both sat at even par as they headed to the back side. Dylan Otto also continued his consistency on the front nine in the Seawolves final round as Otto finished just 2-over in each of his three front nine's of the regional tournament. SSU teetered in and out of the top-4 all day and even saw themselves as high as second place on the team leaderboard. The 16th par 5 would prove to be a momentous one for Sonoma State as both Devin Gregg and Griffin Pace would eagle the hole to give SSU a big jump in the standings and allow them to build a buffer

for themselves inside the top-4. "I hit my second shot in the bunker on the par 5 and had about a 25 yard bunker shot that was downhill towards the hole. I played a little chunk and run down the slope and the ball had just enough momentum to fall in the hole as it's speed died. I gave one of the hardest fist pumps of my life" (Gregg, SA).

Gregg would shoot just 1-under on the backside to give him a final round 71. "I knew we needed a couple special things to happen down the stretch and to be able to capitalize like that makes it one of my most clutch shots I've ever hit" (Gregg, SA). Pace battled to record his eagle as he would record a triple bogey on the hole prior, but remained focused and would pick up a huge eagle for himself and the team heading into the final two holes. "All credit for this hole goes to both of my coaches who got me in the right head space before each shot because I could not have done it by myself.  All of a sudden I hear an eruption from the group in front of me and I see

Devin celebrating his eagle hole out up on the green. This gave me motivation to follow him up with another eagle to gain momentum with the team. I stepped up and hit a 4iron to 12 feet.  Then I made the putt which is my favorite golf memory to date" (Pace, SA).

Freshman Nick Friedman and Thomas Jenkins Jr. would shoot an even par on the back nine to help SSU hold onto a spot in the top-4. Friedman seemed to only get better for the Seawolves after each round as he recorded his best round of the NCAA Regional, a 75(+3) in the third round. The biggest excitement of the day would come on the par 4 18th where Thomas Jenkins Jr. was coming down the stretch with a chance to win the individual Regional Championship. After sticking the green on his approach shot, Jenkins needed a two-putt to take the individual title by a stroke as Zach Burch of Texas A&M - Commerce bogeyed the hole and dropped a stroke to sit at -4 for the tournament. With the rest of his team watching and local supporters, Jenkins sank the breaking 8-foot putt to par the hole and give him the outright individual championship! HIGHLIGHT HERE!! "I had an 8-foot putt that broke about a half a ball to the right and I knew I had that putt to win", said Jenkins, "something my dad always told me that I was thinking about was, 'when you have the chance, you put'em away', and that was a feeling that I got to experience after making that putt to win the individual Regional Championship" (Jenkins, SA).   

Jenkins would finish his third round of the Regional Tournament with a 69(-3) performance to give him the individual title and to help lead his team to a third place finish, allowing Sonoma State to qualify for the National Championship. "With the pandemic and everything we had to battle and work through, we are just so happy as a team to see all of our hard work come to fruition and we can't wait to get to Florida and make a name for ourselves in the National Championship" (Jenkins, SA).
 

"Tom's performance was huge this week. He took on the role of carrying the team when we needed him to and for him to come out with a win is something we all will never forget" (Gregg, SA). "Tom is an absolute unit.  I could not be more proud of him.  To put it as simple as I can, we would not have made it to nationals without him.  Tom put the team on his back when we were slipping up and he was our solid score we needed every day of the tournament" (Pace, SA). 

"Tom definitely was playing well skill wise but mentally he was on another level this week. He took a lot of his outside distractions and was able to put them aside. Super proud of him. He became the second Seawolf to win the NCAA individual regional title behind Janssen Todd" (Verhunce, HC).

The Seawolves will compete in the NCAA Division II Men's Golf National Championship from May 17th-21st in Palm Beach, Florida at the PGA National Resort and Spa, The Champion Course, as they will be one of 16 teams competing for the National Championship. "I do know that the team is ready and they did not want to waste their efforts by ending our season here in Washington. I expect them to organize their class schedules and finals this week to free them up from their academic obligations to help give them an extra boost to compete in a long but well anticipated week of golf down in Florida" (Verhunce, HC).

Griffin Pace had this to say about the COVID-19 and what it meant to be able to compete again with his teammates. "We came out winning as if no time had passed between our 2020 spring season and now.  Going to regionals was extremely fun. I was telling the guys after the final round, competing in post season with the boys is the most fun I have ever had playing golf".  

Congratulations to all of our tremendous men's golf student-athletes and the SSU men's golf program on this amazing accomplishment and we wish them the best of luck in Florida in the National Championship. In the words of Jenkins and head coach Val Verhunce on their championship opportunity, "Yes sir, let's go do it" (Jenkins, SA). Head to sonomaseawolves.com for information, updates, news, and live scoring links for the upcoming NCAA Division II National Championship. Go Seawolves!    

Division II Men's Golf Championship Participating Teams

Full Post NCAA Regional Interview - ThomasJenkins Jr.