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Men's Golf
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Wednesday, May 14
Bremerton, Wash.
University of Utah
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NCAA Regionals
Watts Advances to NCAA Championships, Utah Golf Falls Short in Bremerton
5/14/2025 10:34 PM | Men's Golf
Braxton Watts secured the regional crown to move on after another dominant day on the course
BREMERTON, Wash. – Senior Braxton Watts completed the NCAA Bremerton Regional with another exceptional showing to earn a spot as an individual in the NCAA Championships while the Utah Men's Golf team rallied from behind to construct a furious comeback that fell just short, ending its season.
"This team has a lot of heart, and they don't know how to quit," head coach Garrett Clegg said. "We gave it everything to try to advance today but we just couldn't get it done. I'm so happy for Braxton. He played incredible golf this week and it's great that he will finish his season at the NCAA Championships. It's really incredible what the team did during this season, they're truly a special group."
On a wet day at Gold Mountain Golf Course, the Utes went into the final round on the outside looking in at NCAA Championships territory, trailing Kansas State by two strokes. Wednesday's third round was Utah's best round of the regional, posting a team score of -7 after shooting +3 on Monday and +5 on Tuesday. The team finished with the second-most pars in the regional, totaling 168 in the 216 holes played. Watts became the fifth Ute to win a tournament this season after the four other starters tallied their firsts throughout the season. It was Utah's sixth individual crown this season.
The Utes trailed by as many as seven strokes throughout play on Wednesday, scratching and clawing their way back into the race as the team totaled nine birdies to just one bogey on the back nine. When it came down to the final few holes, the Utes had reached just a three-stroke deficit with one hole left and two golfers still competing. Gabriel Palacios took to the par 4 No. 18 hole first, driving his ball onto the green from the tee box. With an opportunity to secure an eagle and bring the Utes within one stroke, the lengthy putt just missed, and the sophomore settled for a birdie. The Utes needed their final golfer, Watts, to drill an eagle to force a playoff with South Carolina (E). Watts lifted his first shot onto the fairway to set up his second shot which measured 82 yards from the pin. As Watts struck his ball, the opportunity of hope for the Utes left spectating teams and fans holding their breath as it reached the green. The ball bounced just beyond the hole and slowly rolled back, placed exactly where it needed to be. The ball just missed the rim of the cup wide and stalled a couple of inches away from an improbable eagle. Watts tapped in the birdie to take sole possession of first place and earn the first NCAA Regional individual title in program history. Utah finished the Bremerton Regional one stroke out of fifth place.
Before the closing moments, Watts stayed sizzling hot into the final round of the NCAA Regionals as he opened play with back-to-back birdies to sit 2-under right out of the gate. After a trio of even marks, the Ute ran into a bogey but responded with another red mark on the ensuing hole. The senior continued his stellar play into the back nine, hitting four birdies against zero bogeys to climb the ranks into first place for the title.
Gabriel Palacios started the third round with seven even marks before struggling on the eighth hole with a double bogey. The sophomore immediately came back with a birdie to shoot 1-over on the front nine. Palacios also turned up the intensity across the final nine holes, tallying three birdies with six even marks to improve his regional score to 1-over and finish in a tie for 21st.
Sergio Jimenez got off to a slow start with a bogey on the opening hole of the course but leveled out five holes later with a birdie to move into the back nine even with par. Some strong golf from Jimenez allowed him to hit a pair of birdies with zero holes recorded over par. The sophomore climbed 11 spots into a tie for 37th with his 2-under performance in the final round.
Redshirt junior Davis Johnson opened up the front nine with a bogey on the first hole of the day before adding another five holes later. Sitting 2-over, Johnson recorded his first birdie of the day on the next hole but finished off the first half with another bogey. The back nine totaled eight even scores and one bogey to put Johnson in a tie for 63rd at 15-over for the regional.
Brandon Robison posted a double bogey on the first hole of the course before tallying two bogeys and a birdie across the remainder of the front nine to head into the back nine 4-over. Onto the back half, Robison hit a trio of bogeys to tie with Johnson in 63rd at 15-over.
FINAL LEADERBOARD (TOP FIVE TEAMS ADVANCE)
1. Florida (-28)
2. Arizona State (-25)
3. Colorado (-4)
4. USF (-2)
5. South Carolina (E)
6. Utah (+1)
7. Kansas State (+3)
8. Charlotte (+13)
9. Colorado State (+17)
T10. Kansas (+21)
T10. Oral Roberts (+21)
12. Elon (+26)
T13. Coastal Carolina (+28)
T13. Seattle (+34)
NEXT UP
Watts returns to the NCAA Championship and heads to Carlsbad, Calif., at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa on May 23-28.
FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Golf program along with tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Utes on social media (X: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf).
"This team has a lot of heart, and they don't know how to quit," head coach Garrett Clegg said. "We gave it everything to try to advance today but we just couldn't get it done. I'm so happy for Braxton. He played incredible golf this week and it's great that he will finish his season at the NCAA Championships. It's really incredible what the team did during this season, they're truly a special group."
On a wet day at Gold Mountain Golf Course, the Utes went into the final round on the outside looking in at NCAA Championships territory, trailing Kansas State by two strokes. Wednesday's third round was Utah's best round of the regional, posting a team score of -7 after shooting +3 on Monday and +5 on Tuesday. The team finished with the second-most pars in the regional, totaling 168 in the 216 holes played. Watts became the fifth Ute to win a tournament this season after the four other starters tallied their firsts throughout the season. It was Utah's sixth individual crown this season.
The Utes trailed by as many as seven strokes throughout play on Wednesday, scratching and clawing their way back into the race as the team totaled nine birdies to just one bogey on the back nine. When it came down to the final few holes, the Utes had reached just a three-stroke deficit with one hole left and two golfers still competing. Gabriel Palacios took to the par 4 No. 18 hole first, driving his ball onto the green from the tee box. With an opportunity to secure an eagle and bring the Utes within one stroke, the lengthy putt just missed, and the sophomore settled for a birdie. The Utes needed their final golfer, Watts, to drill an eagle to force a playoff with South Carolina (E). Watts lifted his first shot onto the fairway to set up his second shot which measured 82 yards from the pin. As Watts struck his ball, the opportunity of hope for the Utes left spectating teams and fans holding their breath as it reached the green. The ball bounced just beyond the hole and slowly rolled back, placed exactly where it needed to be. The ball just missed the rim of the cup wide and stalled a couple of inches away from an improbable eagle. Watts tapped in the birdie to take sole possession of first place and earn the first NCAA Regional individual title in program history. Utah finished the Bremerton Regional one stroke out of fifth place.
Before the closing moments, Watts stayed sizzling hot into the final round of the NCAA Regionals as he opened play with back-to-back birdies to sit 2-under right out of the gate. After a trio of even marks, the Ute ran into a bogey but responded with another red mark on the ensuing hole. The senior continued his stellar play into the back nine, hitting four birdies against zero bogeys to climb the ranks into first place for the title.
Gabriel Palacios started the third round with seven even marks before struggling on the eighth hole with a double bogey. The sophomore immediately came back with a birdie to shoot 1-over on the front nine. Palacios also turned up the intensity across the final nine holes, tallying three birdies with six even marks to improve his regional score to 1-over and finish in a tie for 21st.
Sergio Jimenez got off to a slow start with a bogey on the opening hole of the course but leveled out five holes later with a birdie to move into the back nine even with par. Some strong golf from Jimenez allowed him to hit a pair of birdies with zero holes recorded over par. The sophomore climbed 11 spots into a tie for 37th with his 2-under performance in the final round.
Redshirt junior Davis Johnson opened up the front nine with a bogey on the first hole of the day before adding another five holes later. Sitting 2-over, Johnson recorded his first birdie of the day on the next hole but finished off the first half with another bogey. The back nine totaled eight even scores and one bogey to put Johnson in a tie for 63rd at 15-over for the regional.
Brandon Robison posted a double bogey on the first hole of the course before tallying two bogeys and a birdie across the remainder of the front nine to head into the back nine 4-over. Onto the back half, Robison hit a trio of bogeys to tie with Johnson in 63rd at 15-over.
FINAL LEADERBOARD (TOP FIVE TEAMS ADVANCE)
1. Florida (-28)
2. Arizona State (-25)
3. Colorado (-4)
4. USF (-2)
5. South Carolina (E)
6. Utah (+1)
7. Kansas State (+3)
8. Charlotte (+13)
9. Colorado State (+17)
T10. Kansas (+21)
T10. Oral Roberts (+21)
12. Elon (+26)
T13. Coastal Carolina (+28)
T13. Seattle (+34)
NEXT UP
Watts returns to the NCAA Championship and heads to Carlsbad, Calif., at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa on May 23-28.
FOLLOW THE UTES
For an inside look at the Utah Golf program along with tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Utes on social media (X: @UtesGolf | Instagram: @UtesGolf).
Players Mentioned
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