Spring classes are in session which mean spring sports are here!

The NCAA Spring Golf season opened up on January 30th for the Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, California. A dozen teams competed this season trying to claim the first win of the spring season.

On the men’s side, the Texas Longhorns entered this tournament ranked 17. The Horns came on top with a 13-shot lead after Jacob Sosa shot a career best opening round of 61 with 3 total eagles and a 30 on the back 9
Photo Credit to Texas Longhorns twitter.
Teams in the top four conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC) already have their eyes on the final championship round and who is going to come out on top.

In the ACC, Wake Forest is the previous championship winner and are looking to pull a repeat trying to be the first team to do that since Georgia pulled a repeat twice (2014-2015 and 2018-2019). According to Golf Channel, Wake Forest has dropped to 34th in the ACC Rankings and the pick to win the championship is North Carolina who is currently ranked 5th. The championship will take place April 21-24, Country Club of North Carolina, Pinehurst, North Carolina.

The Big Ten is a different mindset. Illinois has won the championship for the past seven years and looks to continue this streak as they are not backing down anytime soon. Illinois is the current pick to win the Big Ten Championship on April 28-30 at Galloway National Golf Club, Galloway, N.J.

Moving down to the Big 12 Championship that will take place on April 24-26 at Prairie Dunes Country Club, Hutchinson, Kansas. The current pick to win is Oklahoma who is the current Big 12 winner from 2022. It has been a back and forth battle between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Texas is also coming in strong wanting to get their win streak back on track after winning 4 years in a row (2014-2018). Texas Tech hasn’t won the championship yet and are looking hot coming into this championship ranked 3rd as a team.

Looking ahead at the Pac-12, the pick to win is Stanford who is currently ranked 6th as a team with Arizona State coming in 4th. The championship will take place on April 28-30 at Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California. Stanford hasn’t won since 2019 and are looking to take the title back from Washington who stunned the field winning the championship for the first time since (find this out).

The last big conference is the SEC with the current champions being Vanderbilt. Even though Auburn is currently ranked 1st, the pick to win is still Vanderbilt coming in at a close 2nd. The championship is currently scheduled to take place on April 19-23 at Sea Island Golf Club (seaside) at St. Simons Island, Georgia.

On the women’s side of the NCAA Golf Spring Season, it is a very competitive field led by Stanford’s returning star sophomore Rose Zhang,currently ranked number one throughout the college golf field.

Zhang has accomplished so much at just 19 years old, and she continues climbing. She won the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2022 NCAA Division I Championship. Along with those wins, she has competed and won five other events.

Photo Credit to USGA
The Cardinals are the NCAA champions and are looking to win the Pac-12 title for the first time since 2014. The championship will take place on April 17-19 at Papagao Golf Club in Tempe Arizona. Even though Oregon is the current Pac-12 winner, they have dropped to 5th and Stanford continues to sit at 1st.

Looking ahead at the ACC Championship Wake Forest is currently ranked number 2 as a team and is the pick to win the ACC Championship this year on April 13-16 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro North Carolina. Wake Forest was able to top the Cardinals by six shots in a 54-hole stroke-play match of the Stephens Cup just before Stanford was able to return the match and win 4-1. Wake Forest is coming in strong with many key returning players and looking to pull a repeat of their last year’s win.

The Big Ten Championship is going to be taking place on April 21-23 at Fox Chapel Golf Club in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The recent champions have been back and forth between Michigan and Michigan State and also Ohio State and Northwestern. The pick to win the championship is Ohio State which is currently ranked 35th as a team.

The Texas Longhorns are the pick to win the Big 12 Championship while losing some talent from last year’s teams. Texas is currently ranked 7th as a team while holding the title from last year’s championship and Oklahoma State is looking to take it back after winning in 2021.

The last big championship this season is the SEC that LSU is looking to win again. The SEC will take place at Greystone Golf Club in Birmingham Alabama on April 12-16. Even though LSU won last year the pick to win is currently Texas A&M where they are currently ranked 6th and haven’t won since 2015.