Field set for NCAA golf semifinals
LOS ANGELES -- Alabama and Texas easily advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA golf championships, while Oregon and California went down to the last golfer Friday before moving on at Riviera Country Club.
Alabama beat Kent State, winning three of the five matches. Freshman Justin Thomas defeated Kevin Miller, 6 and 5. Cory Whitsett downed Kyle Kmiecik 5 and 4. And Scott Strohmeyer clinched it with a 2-and-1 win over Taylor Pendrith.
Texas beat Washington 5-0, with Jordan Spieth, Julio Vegas, Dylan Frittelli, Cody Gribble and Toni Hakula each winning.
None of the five Alabama or Texas matches reached the 18th hole.
"We had two guys play (Thomas and Whitsett) just fantastic golf, and in our tournament schedule we probably would have had a low score today," Alabama coach Jay Seawell said.
California eliminated San Diego State when Joel Stalter made a 15-foot putt on the 17th hole to take the deciding match 2 and 1 over Alex Kang.
Oregon ousted UCLA with the last group on the final hole. UCLA's Anton Arboleda missed an 8-foot birdie putt that would have extended the match.
"I'm ecstatic that we won," Oregon coach Casey Martin said. "The guys have had a magical year, and I'm grateful that I can coach one more day."
Texas will face Oregon, and Alabama will meet California in the semifinals Saturday.
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