Courtesy of Kansas State Athletics
MANHATTAN, Kan. - In the midst of one of the best seasons in program history, the Kansas State men's golf team earned a postseason bid for a second-consecutive season as the Wildcats were tabbed the No. 5 seed in the 2023 NCAA Bath (Michigan) Regional, the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Selection Committee announced Wednesday during College Central on GOLF Channel.
K-State will compete at Eagle Eye Golf Club, May 15-17, against a field of 13 teams. It will be the Wildcats' ninth regional in school history, while it is the first time K-State has been selected for regionals in back-to-back years since 2008 and 2009.
"It feels great," head coach Grant Robbins said. "It took a while to get to that first step to make regionals - we came so close in 2019 and again in 2021. Last year, we finally broke through and made that regional. This year, we just had such a great year. We were very consistent in the top 25 all year. So, this year, it's all about where we're going and what it's going to take to advance."
The Wildcats have put together seven top-five finishes - including four wins - this season to tie for second in school history in both categories. K-State's current 281.45 team stroke average is the lowest in school history by nearly seven shots per round. Eight of the top 20 team rounds in school history have come this season in addition to five of the top 15 54-hole scores.
In turn, the Wildcats' top six players this year all have individual stroke averages that rank in the top 12 in school history, led by Tim Tillmanns (70.23), Will Hopkins (70.29) and Cooper Schultz (71.00) that currently hold the top three spots.
Tillmanns and Hopkins, both seniors, currently rank first and second in school history in career stroke average. Tillmanns, from Cologne, Germany, holds a 71.88 average over 95 career rounds, and Hopkins, a native of Lincolnshire, England, is at 72.32 over 125 career rounds. Both players also rank in the top 10 in school history in career top-10 finishes with Tillmanns (13) tied for seventh and Hopkins (11) tied for ninth.
The top five teams and the low individual not on an advancing team in the 2023 NCAA Bath Regional will move on to the 2023 NCAA Championship, held May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Wildcats are in search of qualifying for their first championship in school history.