For the third time in program history, No. 16 Liberty golf will be advancing to the NCAA National Championship as the Flames wrapped up its three-day tour of the Tallahassee Regional. Liberty finished in 4th place in the regional. The top five teams of each of the six NCAA Regionals advance to the national championship.

The Flames finished the tournament with a 15-under par 849, several strokes behind Florida State, the tournament host and No. 2 team in the country. The Seminoles secured a regional championship, winning from wire to wire as they finished with a 34-under par 830. Advancing to the national championship alongside FSU and Liberty from the Tallahassee Regional are Georgia, Georgia Tech, and TCU.

The Flames entered the NCAA Tallahassee Regional ranked No. 16 in the Golfstat national rankings and as the No. 3 seed in the regional. Liberty has been consistently ranked inside the top 25 Golfstat national rankings throughout the 2021 spring season. The team’s highest Golfstat team ranking this season was No. 13 on April 14.

After posting the third best score to open regional play on Monday, Liberty finished Tuesday with the top score in the tournament for round two, finishing with an 11-under par 277. This pushed the Flames into second place in the regional and a comfortable 13 strokes ahead of 6th place. In Wednesday’s third and final round, Liberty posted its worse score of the tournament, shooting a 1-over par 289.

Kieran Vincent, who entered the week as the No. 21 ranked golfer in the country, paced the Flames and the entire field as he carded a 7-under par 65 first round score. The redshirt-junior sat atop the leader-board at the end of Monday’s round with a two stroke lead on his top challengers. Georgia’s Davis Thompson would shoot a 14-under par 202 to win the individual title as he outlasted Jacksonville’s Michael Sakane who shot a 13-under par 203.

Vincent finished the tournament shooting a 7-under par 209 as he tied for 5th place on the overall individual leaderboard. Liberty’s Jonathan Yaun shot a 6-under par 210 and finished tied for 8th. Rounding out Liberty’s individual performances,  Ervin Chang and Zach Barbin each shot a 1-over par 217 while Alexandre Fuchs shot a 6-over par 222.

Making the program’s 11th appearance at an NCAA men’s golf regional and its ninth in the last 10 regional events, Liberty now turns its attention to the 2021 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona which begins Friday, May 28.

Liberty previously finished in in fifth place at the 2019 NCAA Athens Regional, posting a score of 18-over par 870 at the UGA Golf Course in Athens, Georgia. That finish secured Liberty’s second trip in program history to the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship where the Flames finished 20th out of 30 teams. Liberty’s first top-five regional finish came in 2012 when the Flames won the 2012 NCAA Greensboro Regional and finished in 10th place at the 2012 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California.

Final standings of the 2021 NCAA Tallahassee Regional:
1. Florida State -34
2. Georgia -17
3. Georgia Tech -16
4. Liberty -15
5. TCU -9
6. Ohio State -7
7. Kansas -6
8. Georgia Southern E
9. Indiana +5
10. Davidson +8
11. LSU +10
12. Southern California +30
13. Florida A&M +38
14. Long Island +71

The following teams have advanced to the 2021 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona (Golfstat national ranking entering Regionals):

No. 1 Oklahoma
No. 2 Florida State
No. 3 Clemson
No. 4 Oklahoma State
No. 5 Texas
No. 6 Wake Forest
No. 7 Pepperdine
No. 8 North Carolina
No. 9 Illinois
No. 10 NC State
No. 11 Georgia
No. 12 Arizona State
No. 13 Vanderbilt
No. 16 Liberty
No. 17 Florida
No. 18 Tennessee
No. 21 SMU
No. 22 Texas Tech
No. 24 Arkansas
No. 25 San Francisco
No. 26 San Diego State
No. 27 Georgia Tech
No. 28 Louisville
No. 38 UAB
No. 40 TCU
No. 41 Oregon State
No. 49 Sam Houston State
No. 50 East Tennessee State
No. 55 Little Rock
No. 66 San Diego

*photo courtesy Todd Drexler, SE Sports Media