Honors, UTC to Host 2010 NCAA Men's Golf Championships

The last time the NCAA men’s golf championship was played at The Honors Course, in 1996, the tournament was memorable in every way—so memorable the NCAA has been trying to duplicate the experience ever since. Four years from now, the NCAA will get that chance when the tournament returns to The Honors. The only thing missing will be a young Tiger Woods.

UTC and its emerging golf program will be the official hosts of the event, new athletic director Rick Hart announced on Tuesday afternoon at The Honors. As an added bonus for UTC golf and Chattanooga-area fans, the 2008 NCAA East Regional will be played at Council Fire. That in turn allows UTC to host a preview tournament in the fall of 2007 that will bring most of the best teams from the region to Council Fire.

“The 1996 championships are still remembered as the best student-athlete experience at any championship,” said Mike Hermann, athletics director at Towson University and the chair of the Division I Men’s Golf Committee. “We were excited when we received the bid and the decision to bring the championships back to [The Honors] was an easy one for the committee.”

What made the 1996 NCAAs so memorable? Start with the venue and the star attraction. The Honors presented its usual strong test for all except Tiger Woods, who did his best to make sure no one forgot about his final college tournament. Woods was still a couple of months away from turning pro—and the PGA Tour on its ear—but Tiger Mania was in full force. In 1995, the NCAA issued 80 media credentials for the tournament. In 1996, the number was 225. Nearly 15,000 people bought tickets as NCAA attendance records were smashed.

The tournament also benefited from a capable crew of volunteers honed from The Honors’ experience at hosting premier amateur events—notably the 1991 U.S. Amateur and the 1994 Curtis Cup. But make no mistake, the golf Woods played—for three rounds at least—was exceptional, and the main attraction. Woods had come into the tournament hotter than hot, and unbeknownst to anyone other than his inner circle, had already made the decision he had accomplished all he could in amateur golf. Woods won four straight tournaments heading into the NCAAs, including the Pac-10 Championships and the NCAA West Regional.

Woods didn’t miss a beat at The Honors, shooting a first-round 3-under-par 69 to trail by a shot. He tied the competitive course record the next day, shooting 67. Woods distanced himself in the third round with a 69 that gave him a nine-shot lead. The only prize in amateur golf that had eluded him was all but secured.

Asked by a sports writer after the third round whether the course was “easy,” Woods had to gather himself for a couple of seconds. “Oh God no,” Woods said. “This is not a course that you can play aggressively. I feel good about my game, but there’s still one more day. Anything can happen.”

Woods was a prophet. The Honors extracted a bit of revenge at the par-4 ninth hole when he pushed his approach right of the green. He tried a flop shot that failed to slow down as it steamrolled off the green and into the water to the left of the hole. Woods wound up with a triple-bogey seven and was so shaken he proceeded to bogey the first four holes on the back nine. Woods shot 80 for a 72-hole total of 285, still a comfortable four shots clear of runner-up Rory Sabatini of Arizona.

“Things started to slip away quickly,” Woods said after championship trophy was in his grasp. “I knew that they could. “People will never know what it took for me to get it back. I dug down awfully deep today, and I’m proud of myself.”

Can the 2010 NCAAs possible top that drama? That’s hard to say, but considering how college golf has become a feeder program for the PGA Tour, chances are good the tournament will feature numerous future stars.

"Division I golf is loaded with great players, so I'm sure from a talent standpoint, the 2010 championships will be strong," said UTC golf coach Mark Guhne. "But I know from an organizational and a support standpoint, the tournament will be outstanding. Everybody has been trying to emulate the 1996 championships. Coaches I talk to say it was the best that's ever been."

—Chris Dortch