Arkansas Set For NCAA Kohler Regional

Tournament Notes | Regional Central

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 21 Arkansas men’s golf team will make its ninth straight NCAA Regional appearance on Monday, when play opens at The Meadow Valleys Course at Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisconsin. The Razorbacks are the No. 4 seed looking to advance to the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in the last eight years.

The top five teams after three rounds of stroke play will advance to the NCAA Championships held at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon. The low individual from each region that is not on one of the five advancing teams will also earn a berth in the NCAA Championships.

The Kohler Regional features eight of the top 50 teams in the country, including No. 4 Illinois, No. 10 Florida State and fellow Southeastern Conference member No. 16 Florida. The Razorbacks and Gators tied for third at the SEC Championship last month at Sea Island. No. 28 Baylor, No. 33 Penn State, No. 40 Memphis and No. 45 Kent State are all represented in the top 50 in the country.

Arkansas will begin Monday’s opening round at 8:20 a.m. CDT, going off the 10th tee with No. 28 Baylor and No. 33 Penn State. Live hole-by-hole scoring for all three rounds is available at Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.

Regional Rundown
Date: Monday-Wednesday, May 16-18
Course: Meadow Valleys Course at Blackwolf run
Location: Kohler, Wisconsin
Regional Central: Click Here

Razorback Lineup (Stroke Average)
1. Taylor Moore, Sr. (71.4)
2. Nicolas Echavarria, Sr. (72.3)
3. Alvaro Ortiz, So. (72.8)
4. Charles Kim, Fr. (73.8)
5. Kolton Crawford, R-Sr. (73.4)

NCAA Regional Notes
• The Razorbacks are making their ninth consecutive appearance at NCAA Regionals and the 12th in the last 14 years.

• Over its last seven NCAA Regionals, Arkansas has advanced to the NCAA Championship four times, including a runner-up finish in 2009.

• Arkansas is one of 11 teams in the SEC to make the NCAA field of 81 programs, including eight of those appearing as top four seeds in their respective regionals.

• In 22 NCAA Regional appearances, Arkansas has finished in the top five nine different times, including runner-up four times.

• The Razorbacks have three of their top four team scores in NCAA Regional history during the last two seasons.

The Front Nine
• The Razorbacks are ranked No. 21 in the country according to GolfStat.com and Golfweek.com and have earned the No. 4 seed in the Kohler Wisconsin Regional.

• During head coach Brad McMakin’s 10-year stint at the helm of the program, Arkansas has made nine NCAA Regionals.

• The Razorbacks have finished in the top five in seven of the last nine tournaments, including a T-3rd or better finish in five of those events.

• The Razorbacks have finished in the top six at the SEC Championship eight straight years under head coach Brad McMakin, making it the only SEC program to accomplish the feat.

• Taylor Moore is the sixth player in program history to earn All-SEC honors in three different seasons after being named SEC Co-Freshman of the Year in 2013, followed by second team honors in 2015 and 2016.

Now is the Time
Three of the top six individual 54-hole totals in Razorback NCAA Regional history have come from current players, including a program record 208 from Kolton Crawford in 2014. Nicolas Echavarria (209) and Taylor Moore (210) also posted the fifth and sixth best NCAA Regional scores in 2014.

Historic Achievement
Taylor Moore is the sixth player in program history to earn All-SEC honors in three different seasons after being named SEC Co-Freshman of the Year in 2013, followed by second team honors in 2015 and 2016. He is one of five players in the league to earn All-SEC honors three times in the last four years.

Regional Firepower
In two career appearances at NCAA Regionals, Taylor Moore has finished in the top 11 each time. Over the six rounds, he has a scoring average of 71.3 with five rounds at even-par or lower.

Victory Formation
Arkansas has posted five top five finishes this spring, including a victory at the All-American Intercollegiate after trailing by 22 shots on the opening day. The comeback win gave the Razorbacks at least one victory in each of the last nine seasons.

Three’s Company
For the second time in program history, Arkansas has three individual winners in a season, joining Jack O’Keefe, Bud Steele and David White who all captured titles in 1993. This time Taylor Moore, Nicolas Echavarria and Alvaro Ortiz have all entered the winner’s circle this spring, joining LSU as the only programs in the SEC to do so in 2016.

2016 NCAA Kohler Wisconsin Regional Participants

For more information on Arkansas men’s golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.