It was a dramatic Wednesday on day 3 of the NCAA Corvallis Regional for Liberty golf. The Flames went into a playoff with San Diego for the 5th and final spot into the NCAA National Championship before falling. However, Michael Lugiano will head to the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship individually after winning the individual championship at the NCAA Corvallis.
Lugiano birdied three of his final four holes, including 12-foot birdie putt on No. 18 (par 4, 454 yards), which tied the Flames for fifth place with No. 42 San Diego and forced a playoff for the fifth and final team heading to the national championship.
The two teams sent players to playoff holes No. 9, 10, 11, 17 and 18 with the lowest combined team score claiming the playoff win. Following a deadlock after the first playoff hole, San Diego secured the national championship berth with a two-stroke victory and kept the Flames from making their fifth trip to nationals in program history.
Lugiano won the NCAA Corvallis Regional with a 12-under par 201 (68-66-67). He finished three shots clear of Oklahoma’s Jase Summy (9-under par 204/70-67-67), the No. 16 ranked golfer in the country, and Summy’s teammate Clark Van Gaalen (9-under par 204/68-66-70). The victory was the second of the sophomore’s collegiate career as he was also a winner at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate on February 2, 2025 (Georgia Southern Golf Course – Statesboro, Ga.).
As a team, Liberty finished its 15th NCAA Regional appearance in program history with a 9-under par 843 (282-280-281) following three trips around the Trysting Tree Golf Club (par 71, 7,391 yards). Along with Lugiano’s strong finish, the Flames forced the playoff opportunity with birdies by senior’s Brett Reid and Ike Joy.
With the individual victory, Lugiano’s season will continue at the 2026 NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship. The event will be contested at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., starting on May 29. With his win at the NCAA Corvallis Regional, Lugiano becomes the first Conference USA golfer to capture an individual medal at an NCAA Regional since. 2013.
After claiming the Conference USA title earlier this spring for the second time in three seasons in a thrilling match play championship, Liberty advanced to the NCAA Regionals after missing last year’s postseason for the first time in eight seasons. The Flames claimed its second Conference USA title in three seasons with a pair of dominating match play wins over New Mexico State (4-1) and UTEP (3.5-1.5) on April 30 at the Texarkana Country Club (par 72, 6,969 yards) in Texarkana, Ark. Liberty was making the program’s 15th appearance at an NCAA Golf Regional and the 13th in the last 15 regional events, having only missed the 2015 and 2025 NCAA Regionals. The Flames earned the No. 11 seed in the Corvallis Regional, where the team has competed over the past three days in an event hosted by Oregon State at its home golf course – Trysting Tree Golf Club.
