AU golf celebrates its three NCAA Division I national crowns
By Madison Keel
Nearly 700 people gathered in Christenberry Fieldhouse on Monday, May 2, to honor and celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Augusta University men’s golf team’s back-to-back national championships.
These wins took place in 2010 and 2011.
The program also celebrated Broc Everett’s individual national crown in 2018.
The program, sponsored by the Birdie Club, began with a look back on the title seasons and a retelling of how the championships played out when the team was part of then Augusta State University.
This portion of the program was led by event coordinator Dean Newman, whose son Carter was on the two 2010 and 2011 teams. Dean Newman retold how he remembered it as well as showed footage from the news and other local sources as they covered the events.
When a golf team makes it to the national championship, they compete in a match-play format. Essentially, one team is paired up against another, and they compete until there is one team remaining.
In 2010, the championship was held in Ooltewah, Tenn. The first matchup the Jaguars faced was against Georgia Tech. The Jaguars defeated the ACC powerhouse 3-2. Augusta defeated Florida State in the semifinals, 4-1.
The final round of the tournament was against the reigning champions, Oklahoma State. The Jaguars were confident in their ability. The media described this event as a “David versus Goliath matchup.” In the end the Jaguar golf team defeated Oklahoma State 3-2 for the 2010 national championship. Team members were eventual Masters champion Patrick Reed, Henrik Norlander, Mitch Krywulycz, Taylor Floyd and Carter Newman.
The next season the Jaguars once again made it to the quarterfinals in the hunt for another national championship. The tournament was played at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. Newman recalled ASU Coach Josh Gregory saying, “Wouldn’t it be sweet if we were able to beat [Oklahoma State] on their home course to win another National Championship.”
The team went on to defeat Georgia Tech in round one 3-2 and then edged host Oklahoma state 3-2 in the semifinals to move on to compete against University of Georgia for the championship title.
As we all know now, the team grasped the victory 3-2 and were named back-to-back national champions. The championship team included Reed, who had transferred to ASU from Georgia, as well as Norlander, Krywulycz, Carter Newman and Olle Bengtsson.
After the presentation, Carter Newman, known by the team as Captain Clutch, spoke on what it was like to be a part of the winning team.
“We came together as a group of misfits who had something to prove,” Newman said.
He spoke on the true bond of the team on and off the course and ow they did nearly everything together and that alone made the team so much stronger and able to lean on each other during tournaments and in everyday life.
Gregory, coach of the national championship teams, spoke on how he tried to coach the guys as individuals in life and as golfers.
He stated that the team was “motivated to beat each other,” and he says that is what made them stronger players and since the team was constantly together, they had a bond and drive that was “so much fun” to be around. He describes that the team “thought they were superheroes” when speaking about if they felt like they could get another championship.
Later in the evening, the 2018 national medalist, who is now the assistant coach of the Jaguars, was presented with a championship ring and banner that will be hung up in Christenberry Fieldhouse. He took the podium to thank his coaches, teammates and shared a heartwarming story of his family.
A total of $1.3 million was also raised to go toward supporting the Augusta University men and women’s teams.
The AU women’s golf team begins play in the NCAA Division I regionals on May 9. Chloe Holder was named Southland Conference freshman of the year, the same award given to men’s golfer Gareth Steyn.
Contact Madison Keel at mkeel@augusta.edu.
Broc Everett (C) and AU Coach Jack O’Keefe (R) participate in celebration of Everett’s 2018 national golf championship. The celebration took place in Christenberry Fieldhouse. At the top of the page, from left to right are Jake Amos, Carter Newman, Taylor Floyd, Mitch Krywulycz, Henrik Norlander and Coach Josh Gregory from the national championship teams of 2010-11. Amos only played on the 2010 team. (photos by Madison Keel)
