AU's Everett birdies first hole of sudden-death playoff to win NCAA championship

By Leeroy Francis Jr. |Staff WriterBroc Everett captured Augusta University's first-ever individual championship in men's golf on Monday evening, May 28 in Stillwater, Okla.Everett beat Auburn freshman Brandon Mancheno in a one-hole, sudden-death playoff. Both had finished 72 holes at 7 under par. Mancheno had birdied the last hole in regulation, while Everett just missed his birdie putt.But in the extra hole, the West Des Moines, Iowa, Valley High School product birdied while Mancheno parred. After having shot a final round 1-under-par 71, Everett sank a 14-foot birdie putt to win the 2018 Men’s NCAA Individual National Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater.On the final putt, Everett got over the ball, briefly walked away to look over it again and then the 6-foot-4 left-hander rolled the putt home as teammates and parents watched on.Just as the ball rolled in the hole, Everett raised both hands and then bumped his chest twice. He was the NCAA champion.“I was so nervous all day and I knew I just had to keep calm and breathe," Everett said of the final putt. "And even on the playoff hole, I kept telling myself, 'You are so used to being nervous, so just keep your head down and take it one shot at a time. Just keep my head down and you can look up after the shot.' That was my thought all day.”Everett had finished the third round in a tie for third place in the 156-man field with  three straight 70s. The Jag golfer started the final round three shots back of leader Bryson Nimmer of Clemson. Nimmer was at 9 under par and Auburn's Mancheno was at 7 under par with 18 holes to play.With early birdies on holes 1 and 3, AU's Everett quickly was only one shot off the lead. After finishing the front nine with a 1-under-par 35, Brock was in prime position to make a run at the lead.After a bogey at 11, Everett made birdies on 12 and 14 to take sole possession of the lead. After a bogey at 15, Everett played the last three holes at even par to finish at 7 under par for the tournament and in the playoff with Mancheno.On the lone playoff hole (the 18th), Everett hit his drive into the right rough leading to a layup while Mancheno hit the fairway off the tee and from 250 yards out Mancheno hooked his second shot in front of a tree right of the green. Mancheno then chipped his third on the par-5 over the green and then made a routine up and down for par.Just like in regulation, Everett laid up in the fairway and had a wedge into the par-5 finishing hole. Hitting his third to 14 feet, the Jaguar graduate student (he earned his MBA on May 11) had had a similar birdie putt to win the national championship in regulation, eventually hitting the 11-footer through the break and making par.But, this time, it was different. Everett sank the 14-foot birdie putt to defeat Mancheno and win the national title.“I knew I just needed to keep plugging away," the AU golfer said. "I couldn't get too aggressive on this course. Everett said. You have to keep it between the trees and in the fairways. Par is a great score on this course. We just kept hitting good spots and then we were able to finish it off.”The Iowan led the Jaguars in all three rounds this weekend and fired three straight 2-under-par 70s to hold his spot near the top of the leaderboard all week.Augusta University can now add 2018 NCAA individual championship to its list of men’s golf accolades along with the 2010 and 2011 NCAA team titles.“We have the Masters champion this year from Augusta State; now we have the individual champion,” AU Coach Jack O’Keefe said. “It’s pretty special times, and Augusta is a pretty special place, and golf is very important there. We’re trying to get better each day, and things and situations like this allow us to branch out and keep our program moving.”This was the second straight NCAA golf title for Augusta University at Karsten Creek in Oklahoma. The 2011 team, led by Patrick Reed, won the team title in Stillwater.Everett, a former walkon, has been heating up the last few months for Augusta and saved his best for last. He finished in the top three in his last three starts prior to Stillwater. He finished third against a strong field at the team’s home event at Forest Hills Golf Club, the 3M Collegiate Invitational, was runner-up in Augusta’s conference championship (runner-up to teammate Alex Shead) and runner-up to the Ben Hogan Award winner Doug Ghim in the NCAA Raleigh Regional. This was his first ever collegiate victory. Everett, who entered the week ranked 153rd in Golfweek’s rankings, finally has his collegiate title.“It's an incredible feeling really,” Everett said. “I can't even describe it honestly right now.”Everett said he was not paying attention to the leaderboard coming down the last few holes.“No idea," he said. "I only knew where I was until I was walking to the green on hole 18 I thought I had two putts to win and coach (O’Keefe) told me no you have this one putt to win. “On his thoughts and game plan heading to the last couple of holes in regulation, he said he did not want to change anything.“Stick to my game plan," he said. "I can’t mess around and play careless I needed to continue to play smart. I know I wasn’t going to change my game plan no matter if I was down five or five up and I knew if I just stick to my game plan I will be in good position heading to 18.”So what's next for the NCAA champion?“I wish I could come back to Augusta that would be great," he said, "but I will fly to Vancouver tomorrow and start my pro career in Vancouver on the Mackenzie Tour (PGA Tour of Canada), so I will get on a flight at 8:30 to Dallas and then straight to Vancouver."Augusta has now had five top-five finishes individually at the NCAA finals. Jamie Elson tied for second in 2001, Major Manning took fourth in 2005, Henrik Norlander fifth in 2010, and Masters champion Reed tied for third in 2011, also at Karsten Creek.In his four-year career as a Jaguar, Everett posted 12 top-five finishes, 19 top-10 finishes and 27 top-25 finishes. He led the team in 15 tournaments and finished runner up five times. Everett's stroke average of 70.97 as a junior in 2016-17 is the fourth best for Augusta since 1993-94. His No. 24 national ranking in 2017 is the eighth-highest for AU in the modern era.And Everett finally got that collegiate victory, in his very last tournament.Update: AU's Broc Everett also was named first team all-America for NCAA Division I. Contact Leeroy Francis Jr. at lfrancis@augusta.edu 

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