Everett claims NCAA National Championship

Augusta University senior Broc Everett carded a final round 1-under 71 on Monday to win the individual 2018 NCAA National Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. Tied at 7-under-par, Everett edged out Auburn’s Brandon Mancheno with a birdie in the first playoff hole on No. 18 to win his first collegiate tournament in his last collegiate start.

He was told he wouldn’t make it in Division-I golf by several college coaches. Joining the Jaguars as a freshman in 2014-15, Everett finishes his career at the top of his game.

“It’s crazy how far in five years that I’ve been able to come,” Everett said. “To have it all kind of accumulate into a national championship is obviously a dream come true. You can’t have a better finish to your collegiate career that this.”

Everett and Mancheno finished the final round of stroke play knotted at the top of the leaderboard after the latter birdied No. 18 and the former parred the hole later in the evening. Their 7-under 281 sets the course record for a 72-hole score at Karsten Creek.

With no national ranking next to his name, Everett entered Monday’s final round of stroke play at 6-under-par, after firing three consecutive 70s (-2) on the weekend. Battling some of the top ranked players in the country, he opened his round with a birdie on the first hole and carded another on No. 3. Everett went into the back nine 7-under with a one stroke lead over the field.

After bogeying No. 10, Everett recovered and fired birdies on No. 12 and 14. He reached the 18th hole in regulation play, but missed a go-ahead birdie putt to force a playoff with Mancheno. In the playoff, the left-handed Mancheno got up and down to par the hole and put the pressure on the Augusta senior. Everett was up to the task though, as he sunk a 15-foot birdie putt from the back of the 18th green to clinch the individual national championship.

“I really stayed consistent out there – I didn’t get too high or too low,” Everett said. “I got off to a good start, then got an unfortunate break and made bogey on four, but I knew I just needed to keep plugging away. I couldn’t get too aggressive on this course. 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.”

With Augusta head coach Jack O’Keefe by his side, Everett entered Monday’s final round three shots back of then-leader Bryson Nimmer. He was one of the field’s most consistent players throughout the week, posting 70 in each of the first three rounds and a 71 to close on Sunday.

For his four-year career as a Jaguar, Everett posted 12 top-five finishes, 19 top-10 finishes, 27 top-25 finishes, and now a NCAA National Championship. 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.

Everett is the first Jaguar to win an individual NCAA Championship. 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 Patrick Reed tied for third in 2011 also at Karsten Creek.