Liberty Finishes in 26th Place at 2022 NCAA National Championship

No. 26 seed Liberty got within a shot of the coveted “Red Line” during Round 3 of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship, but ultimately fell down the leaderboard to wrap up its 2021-22 season.

Liberty entered the day in 22^nd place and climbed as high as 16^th place when the Flames were nearing the midway point of their Sunday afternoon round.

With its players on holes No. 4 to No. 8, Liberty got within a shot of No. 11 seed Texas Tech, who was holding down the 15^th-place position at the turn.

However, the Flames succumbed to the challenging afternoon conditions at the Grayhawk Golf Club (par 70, 7.289 yards) and were unable to finish within the top 15 teams to advance to tomorrow’s final round of stroke play.

Liberty finished its fourth NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship appearance in 26^th place with a final team score of 58-over par 898 (290-303-305).

The Flames have advanced to the last three NCAA Men’s Golf National Championships, including a 21^st-place showing at last year’s event also hosted by Grayhawk Golf Club.

Liberty’s top golfer in the event was Kieran Vincent. The Super Senior finished tied for 55^th place with a 10-over par 220 (69-72-79). Playing in his third NCAA National Championship event, Vincent missed advancing to the final round of stroke play by one shot.

Round Recap – Liberty’s Starting Five:

• 52 Kieran Vincent – T55 10-over par 220 (69-72-79)
• Jonathan Yaun – T87 14-over par 224 (73-75-76)
• Austin Duncan – T105 17-over par 227 (74-78-75)
• Isaac Simmons – T116 19-over par 229 (74-78-77)
• Zach Barbin – NA 11-over par 81 (81-DNP-DNP)
• Austin Barbin – NA 19-over par 159 (DNP-82-77)

Field Reflections:

• The challenging afternoon playing conditions greatly factored into the final results during the first three days of play at the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship.
• During the first three rounds of the championship, the morning waved played to a team scoring average of 288.27.
• During the heat of the day and with winds picking up, the afternoon wave was played at a team scoring average of 296.73 or an 8.46 stroke differential per round.
• 1 seed Oklahoma continued to show why it has been the top ranked team in the country all season by carding a 3-under par 277 to finish Day 3.
• Oklahoma is the lone team in the 30-team field that is currently under par at 1-under par 839 (287-275-277).
• 2 seed Oklahoma State is just four shots back with a 3-over par 843 (289-277-277).
• The top seven teams in the national rankings are currently the top seven teams on the leaderboard with the rankings nearly holding true to the team leaderboard.
• The last two teams to qualify for the final round of stroke play were No. 10 seed Georgia Tech (298-289-290) and No. 18 seed Ole Miss (297-287-293), who share 14^th place with a 37-over par 877.
• Only four players in the best field in college golf this season are currently in red figures.
• Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent leads the field with a 4-under par 206 (70-68-68).
• Oklahoma’s Chris Gotterup, the top-ranked golfer in the country, is currently in second place one shot behind with a 3-under par 207 (73-66-68).

Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes:

• Liberty played two of its three rounds during the 2022 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship during the challenging afternoon conditions.
• The Flames opened the championship with a 10-over par 290 during the morning flight on Day 1 on Friday.
• Liberty played its second (23-over par 303) and third rounds (25-over par 305) during the afternoon to a combined 48-over par.
• Kieran Vincent and Austin Duncan led the Flames during the championship with seven birdies apiece.
• Vincent concludes his storied career at Liberty as the program’s new all-time career scoring average leader (71.71).
• Vincent finishes his six-year playing career surpassing former record holder and Liberty Athletics Hall of Famer Robert Karlsson’s previous school record (72.02).
• Austin Duncan, who was playing in his first national championship event, finished the tournament tied for 105^th place with a 17-over par 227 (74-78-75).
• The North Greenville transfer finished his lone season with Liberty with a 72.00 scoring average and led the team with 10 sub-70 rounds.
• Jonathan Yaun finished his third NCAA Men’s Golf Championship appearance tied for 87^th place with a 14-over par 224 (73-75-76).
• Yaun wrapped up his redshirt junior season with a 72.11 scoring average.
• Isaac Simmons, who played in just one round at last year’s national championship, finished this year’s event tied for 116^th place with a 19-over par 229 (74-78-77).
• Simmons finished the 2021-22 season with a 72.29 scoring average, a more than two-shot improvement on his scoring average from 2020-21 (74.85).