Barend Botha to Compete in NCAA Regionals at Purdue Starting Monday

Monday, May 13

West Lafayette, Ind. - Kampen-Cosler Course

All Day

University of Toledo

NCAA Regional

Senior Barend Botha will play in the NCAA Division I men's golf regional in West Lafayette, Ind. on May 13-15.

Photo by: Michael Hickey

Barend Botha to Compete in NCAA Regionals at Purdue Starting Monday

5/10/2024 9:43:00 AM | Men's Golf

Senior holds Toledo's career record for lowest stroke average with 71.8 mark

TOLEDO, Ohio — Senior Barend Botha will make his second-straight appearance in NCAA play next week when he represents the University of Toledo men's golf program at the NCAA West Lafayette Regional hosted by Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The tournament will be held Monday-Wednesday, May 13-15 at the par-72, 7,465-yard Kampen-Cosler Course.

Botha enters the regional with momentum after winning his second-straight Mid-American Conference individual title in dominating fashion on April 28 with a 54-hole total of 11-under par 205 at The Club at Chatham Hills in Westfield, Ind. He finished three strokes ahead of his nearest competitor and birdied 18 holes to tie runner-up Bryce Reed of Kent State for the most in the tournament.

A native of George, South Africa, Botha holds the program record for lowest career stroke average (71.8) after posting the lowest two stroke averages ever by a Rocket with a 70.5 mark as a junior and a 71.1 mark this season. Over the last two seasons, Botha has shot par or better in 44 of 69 rounds (63.7 percent).

Botha was also named the MAC's Men's Golfer of the Year for a second straight year. He joined former Varsity T Hall of Famer Brad Heaven as the only Rockets to receive the award on multiple occasions,

Rockets in the NCAA Regionals
Botha is the second Rocket to compete in two NCAA events as an individual. Chris Selfridge participated in regional play in 2013 and 2015. Otto Black and Duncan McNeill also earned spots in 2016 and 2019, respectively.

Past Individual Finishes in NCAA Regionals
2013 – Chris Selfridge – T-25^th – Columbus (Ohio) Regional – 77-71-74=222 (+9)
2015 – Chris Selfridge – 10^th – Noblesville (Ind.) Regional – 73-71-71=215 (-1)
2016 – Otto Black – T-55^th – Kohler (Wis.) Regional – 74-72-78=224 (+8)
2019 – Duncan McNeill – T-12^th – Louisville (Ky.) Regional – 73-67-71=211 (-2)
2023 – Barend Botha – T-29^th – Bath (Mich.) Regional – 73-67-74=214 (+1)

How to Follow
Live Scoring: Golfstat

The Regional Field
The NCAA West Lafayette Regional features 13 teams and 10 individuals. The top five teams and the top individual not on an advancing team will move on to the NCAA Championships May 24-29 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. Five teams and one individual will also advance from the Austin, Texas; Baton Rouge, La.; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; and Stanford, Calif. regionals.

The field includes four Top 25 teams (according to Clippd rankings): #2 Vanderbilt, #11 Arizona, #15 Florida, and #23 New Mexico.

The Regional Schedule
Sunday, May 12 — Practice Round (9:00 a.m. shotgun start)
Monday, May 13 — First Round (18), 8:00 a.m. (tee times off No. 1 & 10)
Tuesday, May 14 — Second Round (18), 8:00 a.m. (tee times off No. 1 & 10)
Wednesday, May 15 — Third Round (18), 8:00 a.m. (tee times off No. 1 & 10)
NOTE: Botha will tee off at 10:23 a.m. from Hole No. 1.

Teams (in seeding order) include: No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 2 Arizona, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 New Mexico, No. 5 Purdue, No. 6 San Diego State (MWC champions), No. 7 Mississippi State, No. 8 Indiana, No. 9 College of Charleston (CAA champions), No. 10 Stetson, No. 11 Colorado State, No. 12 Southern Illinois (MVC champions), and No. 13 Tennessee Tech (OVC champions).

Individuals (in seeding order) are: No. 1 Caleb VanArragon (Valparaiso), No. 2 Hunter Thomson (Michigan), No. 3 Cameron Huss (Wisconsin), No. 4 Barend Botha (TOLEDO), No. 5 Valentin Peugnet (Illinois State), No. 6 Owen Stamper (Middle Tennessee), No. 7 Alex McCulla (Illinois State), No. 8 Ty Gingerich (Cincinnati), No. 9 Luke Fuller (Western Kentucky), and No. 10 Ben Ortwein (Rider).

MAC Medalist
Barend Botha became the first individual in 34 years to win back-to-back outright MAC titles. A Rocket has captured an outright individual title on nine occasions.

Duncan McNeill was the last Toledo golfer to win the MAC individual title in 2019 with the Rockets' other MAC medalists including Ciaran McAleavey in 2008, Brad Heaven in 2004, Mike Stone in 1992 and Tim Hirt in 1979, 1980 and 1981. Tim Rice tied for first place in 1997, and Jamie Tofte Nielsen finished in a three-way tie for first in 2022.

MAC Golfer of Week
Barend Botha was named MAC Men's Golfer of the Week four times this season and has been honored on 10 occasions during his Rocket career.

Improvement Season by Season
Barend Botha registered a 73.5 stroke average in eight tournaments as a freshman after not arriving on campus until January due to the Covid pandemic. He notched a 72.5 mark as a sophomore before posting a school-record 70.5 average as a junior. Botha has a 71.1 mark this season that ranks second in program history.

Botha also has improved his finishes at the MAC Championships each season. Prior to capturing medalist honors each of the last two seasons, he tied for 15^th place in 2021 and tied for fifth in 2022.