The Little Rock Trojans men’s golf team will once again be making an NCAA postseason appearance, this time with boosted expectations.
The Trojans will be seeded eighth in a 14-team regional at Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda Run, North Carolina, high enough for Trojans coach Austin Eoff to make clear that more will be demanded than simply showing up.
“I think the biggest thing is just, when we get to regionals, we know we can do it,” Eoff said Wednesday, moments after he and his team learned the news during a tournament watch party at the Jack Stephens Center. “We’re going to go there to be in the top five, that’s the goal.”
All regionals will take place May 18-20, with the top five teams from each regional advancing to the NCAA Championship, which will take place May 29 through June 3 at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California.
Little Rock’s path toward regional play was as direct as it gets. The Trojans dominated the Ohio Valley Conference championship at Purdue University’s Ackerman Hills, finishing 28-under par, good for a whopping 45-shot victory. Little Rock golfers occupied the top four spots at the conclusion of stroke play, with Mark Stockdale leading the way after a -13 outing. Behind Stockdale were Elliott Simonson, Ed Featherstone and Rhett South.
In addition to the team championship, the Trojans swept the OVC’s individual award categories, with Eoff being named Coach of the Year, Featherstone being named Player of the Year and Viggo Talasmaki taking away Freshman of the Year honors.
Eoff is a former All-Big Ten golfer for Purdue and served as an assistant coach at Central Arkansas before taking over the Little Rock program. Eoff said Wednesday that he was unfamiliar with the Bermuda Run course, and the time leading up to the North Carolina trip will be spent getting prepared for the new course and new competition.
“I’m just going to have to try and look at the course and start getting a game plan together, and then changing how we practice and stuff like that,” Eoff said. “It’ll be a lot like our regular-season events; we’ve just got to go out there and play well.”
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