CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Five Atlantic Coast Conference teams and pair of individuals will descend on Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California, for the 2025 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, set for May 23-28.
California, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Virginia and Wake Forest will compete in the team portion, while Duke’s Bryan Kim and Notre Dame’s Jacob Modleski will compete as individuals. The first round of stroke play is set to begin at 9:52 a.m. ET on Friday, May 23.
Returning to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships for the second straight season and 17th overall, California makes its first appearance as ACC members after finishing fifth in the Reno Regional. This trip also marks the first under first-year head coach Michael Wilson, who was hired in July 2024. The Golden Bears are seeking their second national championship after winning in 2004 in Hot Springs, Virginia.
Winning its second regional championship in program history last week at Seminole Legacy Golf Club, Florida State will make its 12th appearance in the last 15 NCAA Championships. During the break between regionals and the NCAA Championships, standout Luke Clanton, who won the Tallahassee Regional, was awarded the Ben Hogan Award, becoming the sixth different ACC player to earn the honor and first since FSU alum John Pak won in 2021. The Seminoles finished as the national runner-up a season ago, making a run to the national title match as the No. 5 seed and knocking off a pair of ACC teams (North Carolina & Georgia Tech) along the way.
The Yellow Jackets return to the NCAA Championships for the 34th time in program history and seek their third consecutive trip to match play. Georgia Tech sealed its spot in Carlsbad with a fifth-place finish at the Auburn Regional, as defending NCAA individual champion Hiroshi Tai led the Jackets by tying for seventh in the individual standings.
After winning its first-ever ACC Championship in April, Virginia placed second in the Reno Regional to secure its third straight trip to the NCAA Championships. Leading the Cavaliers in Nevada was Paul Chang, who took home medalist honors, becoming just the second UVA player to win a regional title. Virginia has reached match play in each of the last two seasons but has yet to advance past the quarterfinals.
Making its 49th appearance at the NCAA Championships, Wake Forest punched its ticket to California with a fourth-place finish in the Amherst Regional. Starting the third and final round of the regional in eighth place, the Demon Deacons shot 15-under (265) as a team, marking the second-lowest score in program history and lowest in their regional history. Wake Forest is one of just two schools in the nation, along with Texas, to have both its men’s and women’s programs qualify for the NCAA Championships during five of the last six years.
Duke’s Kim tied for third at the Reno Regional and finished as the top individual on a non-advancing team to secure his spot at the NCAA Championships. The sophomore carded a bogey-free 5-under 67 in the final round and finished the regional at 6-under (206) to claim third place. Kim is the second straight Blue Devil to compete at the NCAA Championships as an individual after teammate Ethan Evans last season.
Notre Dame’s Modleski also qualified as an individual after claiming fourth in the Tallahassee Regional. The sophomore posted a 9-under (207), headlined by a first-round 67 (-5), tying for the third-lowest score of the event. Prior to the regionals, Modleski became the first Notre Dame player to win medalist honors at the ACC Championship.
With the championship field set, all 30 teams and six individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play. Following 54 holes of competition, the top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team will advance for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match-play competition and the 72-hole stroke-play individual champion. The top eight teams after 72 holes of play will be placed into a bracket thereafter.
In team match-play competition, a total of five points will be available with one point being awarded for each individual match. Winning teams will advance to the semifinals and subsequently, the finals. The first team to win three points within the team match will advance, or in the case of the final match, be declared the national champion.
Golf Channel’s coverage of the 2025 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships begins on Monday, May 26, at 6 p.m. ET, with the final round of stroke play. All three rounds of match play will air live on Golf Channel beginning on Tuesday, May 27, at 1 p.m. ET and concluding on Wednesday, May 28, at 5:25 p.m. ET.
ACC Notes
- In the latest edition of the Bushnell/Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll (May 2), five ACC teams are in the top 25: Virginia (No. 9), North Carolina (No. 10), Florida State (No. 11), Duke (No. 20) and SMU (No. 25). Georgia Tech, Louisville and Notre Dame are receiving votes.
- In the latest spring Scoreboard team rankings, five ACC teams are in the top 25 (May 22) – Florida State (No. 9), Virginia (No. 10), North Carolina (No. 13) and Duke (No. 25). Georgia Tech (No. 26), SMU (No. 28) and Louisville (No. 30) are just outside the top 25.
- Five ACC players are in the top 25 of the most recent Scoreboard individual rankings (May 22), led by North Carolina’s David Ford remaining at No. 1. Ford is followed by Florida State’s Luke Clanton at No. 3, Louisville’s Sebastian Moss at No. 11, Virginia’s Ben James at No. 12 and Notre Dame’s Jacob Modleski at No. 18.
- The latest PGA TOUR U Rankings were announced on Wednesday, May 21, and North Carolina’s David Ford continues to hold the top spot. Louisville’s Sebastian Moss is No. 7, while SMU’s Enrique Dimayuga is No. 21, FSU’s Gray Albright is No. 22 and NC State’s Nick Mathews is No. 25.
- Florida State’s Luke Clanton was awarded the 2025 Ben Hogan Award on Monday, May 19. He became the sixth different ACC player to earn the award and first since FSU alum John Pak won in 2021.
- Luke Clanton (Florida State), David Ford (North Carolina), Ben James (Virginia) and Sebastian Moss (Louisville) were named to the postseason Watch List for the 2025 Haskins Award.
- Florida State’s Luke Clanton and North Carolina’s David Ford were named finalists for the 2025 NCAA Division I Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday. The winner will be announced by Nicklaus on Sunday, June 1, during his annual Memorial Tournament presented by Workday press conference with awards presented to each of the recipients by Nicklaus and Workday.
- Georgia Tech junior golfer Aidan Tran, who graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration on May 3 in just three years, has been named the recipient of the NCAA’s Elite 90 Award for men’s golf. An ACC player has now won the Elite 90 award in back-to-back seasons after Clemson’s Andrew Swanson won the award a season ago.
- During the 2024-25 regular season, ACC teams won 18 team titles and individuals have won 23 medalist honors. As a team, Florida State won three tournaments, while individually, North Carolina’s David Ford posted a nation-best five individual titles throughout the regular season.