Virginia has advanced to the fourth and final stroke play round at the NCAA Championship for the fourth consecutive year, according to a May 31 announcement from the program. The Cavaliers are currently tied for 10th place on the team leaderboard and are two strokes out of eighth place, which is the last qualifying spot for match play.
The team is among 15 that made the cut and will compete in an 18-hole round on Monday in Carlsbad, California. Each team is seeking one of eight spots in Tuesday’s match play quarterfinals. Virginia’s tee time is scheduled for 1:41 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday.
According to the program, Virginia is currently “the only program in college golf to make it to the last three match play competitions at the NCAA Championship,” and could become just the fifth ever to reach four straight appearances.
Senior Ben James led Virginia during Sunday’s third round with an even-par score of 72, placing him tied for 22nd individually. James recorded three birdies during his round but bogeyed his final hole for a third consecutive day, narrowly missing what would have been his 26th under-par round this season. He remains positioned as frontrunner to retain his No. 1 ranking on PGA Tour University and earn a PGA Tour card through next season; those rankings will be finalized after Monday’s play.
Freshman Michael Lee posted his best score of the tournament so far with a one-over-par 73—marking it as “the lowest round by a UVA freshman at an NCAA Championship since James’ 68 in the fourth round of the 2023 event.” Bryan Lee and Paul Chang each finished two-over par Sunday, rounding out Virginia’s countable scores.
Monday’s stroke play finale will be streamed online beginning at 1:30 p.m., with live scoring available throughout.
