Boise State men’s golf team ends NCAA postseason drought dating back to 1994

The Boise State men’s golf team may be making its first NCAA postseason appearance since 1994, but the Broncos don’t intend to play like wide-eyed rookies.

The eighth-seeded Broncos will be playing 54 holes at Championship Golf Course at the University of New Mexico with the aim of winning.

“We’re going to go there trying to win the golf tournament,” Boise State coach Dan Potter told the Idaho Statesman. “Obviously, the top five teams will advance, but you’re not going to talk to any team that’s there who’s trying to finish fifth.”

During a live broadcast on Golf Channel on Wednesday afternoon, the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee awarded Boise State an at-large bid in the Albuquerque Regional, which will be played May 17-19. The Broncos are among 14 teams at the regional: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 12 Arizona State, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 22 Texas Tech, No. 29 New Mexico, No. 31 Stanford, No. 41 Oregon State, South Carolina, Nevada, San Diego, New Mexico State, Oakland and Prairie View A&M.

The top five teams and the top individual not on a qualifying team from the six regional sites advance to the NCAA finals May 28-June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“We’ve actually been pretty close the last couple of years, but you don’t get rewarded for being close,” Potter said. “It’s awesome to finally get over that hump. We knew that our name was going to be called today, so we’ve been able to kind of celebrate this the last couple days, and the nice thing about that is it’s easy to flip the switch and get into ready mode.”

The Broncos are ranked 47th nationally by Golfstat.com and have finished in the top five in six of seven tournaments this season, including a victory at the UCSB Collegiate in April. Boise State junior Max Charles, a transfer from Midland College in Texas, captured medalist honors at that event.

Boise State redshirt sophomore Hugo Townsend is ranked 16th in the NCAA by Golfstat.com. His ranking is the third best in school history behind PGA golfers Troy Merritt (No. 1 in 2007-08) and Graham DeLaet (No. 12 in 2005-06).

After tying for 11th in the Broncos’ season opener, Townsend has posted six straight top 10 finishes, including four in the top five. He earned his first career medalist honor in March when he won the Duck Invitational in Eugene, Oregon.

“There’s going to be a ton of great players at this regional, but Hugo is one of the premier players in the country,” Potter said. “If he plays well, that’s going to translate to having a chance to win no matter where we’re at. He’s played consistently well all year. His results speak for themselves.”

Townsend tied for the individual title at the Mountain West Championship last week before being eliminated on the second playoff hole. Earlier this week, the Boden, Sweden, native was named to Team International for the Arnold Palmer Cup scheduled for June 11-13.

Charles, Townsend, Skyler Eubank, Josh Gliege and Joe Neuheisel will represent the Broncos at the Albuquerque Regional, and a sixth Bronco could join them as a substitute. Potter said he will decide in the coming days whether or not to bring an extra player. Gliege, a former Idaho high school state champion from Eagle High, joined the Broncos this season as a graduate transfer from Texas A&M.

“There’s no point in not believing that we can do it,” Townsend said. “We’ve had a good season. We have good players. We just have to go there and perform well and hopefully it’s our week.”

Potter said the Championship Course at UNM suits his team well. The Broncos are accustomed to playing at a higher altitude, which also plays into one of their strengths: hitting it long. Boise State will travel to New Mexico on May 15 and have Sunday, May 16, to play 18 holes on the course before the first round of regional play begins on Monday, May 17.

“We’ve had a talented group of guys over the last couple of years and obviously all of that stuff helps you get better players going forward,” Potter said. “We’ve felt the support of the golf community here in Boise. They’ve always been awesome to us, and so to be able to celebrate with some of those people who followed us, cheered for us and contributed to the program, this is a cool day to celebrate this with more people than just the guys on our team.”

NNU GOLF: The Northwest Nazarene men’s golf team has qualified for the NCAA Division II postseason for the first time in program history. It begins play Thursday at The Home Course in DuPont, Washington. The top four teams from the three-day tournament advance to the national championships scheduled for May 17-21 at PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Grayson Giboney, Isaac Emerson, Cole Evarts (Rocky Mountain High), Tyler Joplin (Eagle High) and Lane Strand (Challis High) will represent the Nighthawks.