FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – SMU head coach Jason Enloe was in tears as he congratulated his team after they punched their tickets to match play Monday at the NCAA Championship.
The Mustangs had already overcome so much this season – the death of Enloe’s wife, Katie, last summer; a disqualification at The Goodwin that nearly kept the team out of the postseason; a gutsy regional performance – but they persevered yet again. SMU’s counting scorers played their final hole, the par-4 ninth at Blessings in a combined 4 over to fall into a tie with Clemson for the eighth and final spot in match play. With both teams at 44 over, they headed back out for a 5-count-5 sudden-death playoff, which SMU won by two shots to earn a quarterfinals date with top seed Oklahoma State.
“It was so hard out here,” Enloe said. “I felt bad for them actually because this course is so brutal. They just amazed me again today, and to bounce back in this crazy playoff is awesome. It has been a crazy year. These guys are just so awesome. Great group of kids. I’m so proud of them and so proud to be their coach. I think we had a little destiny on our side this year.”
With each player playing a different hole in the playoff, senior Mac Meissner had the final moment as he sank a short par putt on the par-4 18th hole. It was redemption for Meissner, who lipped out a short par putt on the ninth to drop the Mustangs into the tie with Clemson.
“Everything happens for a reason, and what happened this year made us tougher and closer,” Meissner said. “We grinded through it today, like we’ve done that all season. We’ve come together as brothers and to make match play is an incredible accomplishment.”
Quarterfinal matchups
No. 1 Oklahoma State vs. No. 8 SMU (Off No. 1)
- Viktor Hovland vs. Ben Wong, 7:50 a.m.
- Matthew Wolff vs. Noah Goodwin, 8 a.m.
- Hayden Wood vs. Ollie Osborne, 8:10 a.m.
- Austin Eckroat vs. Jackson Markham, 8:20 a.m.
- Zach Bauchou vs. Mac Meissner, 8:30 a.m.
No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Texas (Off No. 10)
- Brad Dalke vs. Spencer Soosman, 7:50 a.m.
- Patrick Welch vs. Cole Hammer, 8 a.m.
- Quade Cummins vs. Pierceson Coody, 8:10 a.m.
- Garett Reband vs. Parker Coody, 8:20 a.m.
- Blaine Hale vs. Steven Chervony, 8:30 a.m.
No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 7 Texas A&M (Off No. 1)
- Patrick Martin vs. Walker Lee, 7 a.m.
- John Augenstein vs. Brandon Smith, 7:10 a.m.
- Reid Davenport vs. Sam Bennett, 7:20 a.m.
- Harrison Ott vs. Chandler Phillips, 7:30 a.m.
- Will Gordon vs. Dan Erickson, 7:40 a.m.
No. 3 Wake Forest vs. No. 6 Stanford (Off No. 10)
- Alex Fitzpatrick vs. Henry Shimp, 7 a.m.
- Lee Detmer vs. David Snyder, 7:10 a.m.
- Eugenio Chacarra vs. Isaiah Salinda, 7:20 a.m.
- Eric Bae vs. Brandon Wu, 7:30 a.m.
- Cameron Young vs. Daulet Tuleubayev, 7:40 a.m.