GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The ninth-ranked UWF men's golf team played the final four holes at 2-under-par to move from sixth to third place at the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional on Saturday and earn a qualifying spot into the NCAA Championships.
 
UWF spent the majority of the day one and two shots on the wrong side of the cutline for the top five qualifiers. Then the squad came alive on the 15th and 16th holes, getting birdies from freshman TJ Thompson and junior Fabian Wennerlof to move to 8-over for the championship. That afforded them the necessary cushion to withstand two bogeys and a double bogey – along with two birdies – in the final two holes to make it through to nationals.
 
"It's just a slugfest (annually at this regional) and with 11 teams in the top 15 of the national rankings this year was no different," UWF head coach Steve Fell said. "It's just a battle. We fought and fought and fought all day long. The guys never gave up and kept fighting. Per was having an off day and everyone knew they had to step up. 
 
"TJ really stepped up late and the outcome showed a total team effort. I'm just so happy that we are advancing. I felt like we were going to get it done and had a lot of confidence in the guys. Everything we were doing in practice all season paid off today."
 
It was the Argonauts' 13th top three finish at regionals, including their sixth in the last seven years of competition. UWF will make its 16th all-time appearance at the NCAA Championships in 10 days at the Orange County National Golf Center, May 21-25.
 
UWF ended the 54-hole event with a 295-288-290=873 total on the par 72 layout at Chattahoochee Golf Club.
 
Thompson birdied three of the final five holes to shoot a 70, putting him into a tie for 13th at 73-74-70=217.
 
Sophomore Cooper Tendick birdied the final hole to shoot 71, landing in a tie for 22nd place at 219. Junior Mason Minkel tied for 32nd at 73-73-75=221, while freshman Per Ekelund and Wennerlof finished a shot back at 222 in a tie for 40th.