Grand Canyon University Wins PGA National Collegiate Club Golf Association Fall Championship

Grand Canyon University added another championship to its resume defending its title at the 2024 PGA National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA) Fall Championship at Pinehurst Resort.

Grand Canyon entered Sunday’s final round in fourth place after a 381 on No. 5 in first round action, five shots behind Day One leader James Madison. Grand Canyon shot the best score of the weekend on No. 8 with a 374 in final round action to capture the championship. 

“I knew as long as we could stay in the mix in the first round, that we had a better chance on No. 8,” Grand Canyon Head Club Golf Coach Ryan Woodworth said. “No. 5 was tough on us because we are not used to narrow courses. No. 8 is a little more open where we can miss a little more left and right, so I knew we had a better scoring opportunity out here.”

This is the third PGA NCCGA national title for Grand Canyon, which also won the 2023 Fall Championship in a one-hole playoff at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia, Miss. They were co-champions in the Spring (2024) Championship at WinStar Resort (Oklahoma), sharing the title with Miami University (Ohio), after the tournament was shortened to one day due to inclement weather.

Grand Canyon scored a +35 (755, 381-374), 11 shots better than second place finisher Arizona State (+46, 766, 377-389). University of Mississippi (+51, 771, 383-388) and Clemson (+51, 771, 388-383) finished tied for third, followed by University of Florida with a +53 (773, 387-386).

Patrick Burhop of James Madison won the individual medalist honors with a two-day score of 146 (+2, 73-73). Miles Merlin (SMU) and Alex King (Arizona State) finished second with a +3, followed by Alex Landry (Clemson) and Dillyn Schmidke (Grand Canyon) in a tie for fourth place with a +4. All five golfers earned All-Tournament Team honors. 

“I made my putts when I needed to down the stretch,” Burhop said. “I couldn’t ask for a better weekend. Playing Pinehurst is such a special moment.”

Club golf teams competed in their respective regions throughout September and October for the chance to advance to the Championship.

The Invitational, held in conjunction with the Fall Championship, provides an additional opportunity for more students to compete in a national event. Invitations are extended to one team from each of the 27 regions that did not qualify for the Championship as well as the top individuals not competing on a team.

Providence College won the PGA NCCGA Invitational with a three-shot advantage over the University of Tampa Club team. Providence shot a two-round total of 758 (388-370) on No. 5 for the +38. Tampa finished second with a +41 (761, 386-375), followed by North Carolina, +53, (773, 389-384), Stanford, +57 (777, 399-378) and New Hampshire, +58 (778, 388-390).

“These guys work so hard on their own and we just keep it low stress,” said Providence Coach John Simmons, PGA, about his team’s strategy. “I just make sure we get the right distances and try to help them out in their game, but they do a lot by themselves,” he added.

Hayden Russ won the Invitational Individual Medalist honors on a one-hole playoff on No. 18. Russ, in his second year on the University of North Carolina club team, fired the best round of the event with a 69 after shooting a 75 in the first round. He made a birdie on his last hole of the day to force a playoff with Nolan Nicklas of Tampa who had birdied his 17th hole to take a one shot lead.  

“I’m just so super grateful to be here in my home state here at Pinehurst,” Russ said. “I didn’t think I would be in a position or even have a chance at the championship but came out positive today and hit some good drives down the middle, made some birdies and made an eagle on 10 to give myself the lead and then held strong throughout.”