The only events left for the team are Regionals (assuming they get a bid), and Nationals (have to qualify).
College Golf changed how teams qualify for regionals years ago, and have moved to an AQ (Conference Champs) and then bids based on rankings. All teams need to have a .500 record or better to qualify. The Coogs are currently ranked 58th and have a W-L record of 78-62-4.
Last year, we were ranked 52nd and received a bid. I am pretty confident that the Coogs will get a bid to regionals. Regionals are held across the country from May 15 to May 18. Sites are:
Traditions Club (College Station, TX)
PGA National Resort - Champion Course (Palm Beach Gardens, FL)
The Course at Yale (New Haven, CT)
The Reserve at Spanos Park (Stockton, CA)
Ol’ Colony Golf Complex (Tuscaloosa, AL)
OSU Golf Club (Columbus, OH)
Typically, anywhere from 12-15 teams will qualify for a regional site. In order to qualify for NCAA’s, you have to finish in the Top 5. Now, guessing if/where we get a bid is tough. We could end up in College Station or at Yale. All depends on rankings, seedings, teams, etc.
So, Coogs finished 3rd in the Conference Championship. 9 teams competed, so the Coogs W-L record in that event was 6-2.
NCAA started doing this over a decade ago to give mid-majors and smaller-budget programs the ability to play better tournaments and teams while preventing the elites from controlling regional bids. Teams used to play the hardest schedules and finish toward the bottom of the pack, but because of the SoS it boosted their rankings.
Interesting, makes sense to me. Some big programs might have to “slum it” in a couple tournaments with lower level programs if they aren’t good enough to beat the best. I see it like in football 3 and 4 win teams in the SEC wanting bowl games. Are they better than a 6 win Sun Belt team? Most years, clearly. But you can’t reward losing.