Wednesday, May 19
Kingston Springs, Tenn. (The Golf Club of Tennessee)
Michigan State University
vs
NCAA Kingston Springs Regional
James Piot Advances to the NCAA Championships
5/19/2021 5:27:00 PM | Men's Golf
KINGSTON SPRINGS, Tennessee – Michigan State senior James Piot is heading to the NCAA Championships. Piot shot his second straight 3-under-par 68 on Wednesday in the final round of the NCAA Kingston Springs Regional to finish the tournament 5-under-par 208 (72-68-68) and tied for fourth place at the Golf Club of Tennessee. Piot claimed the only individual bid in the Regional as he was the top finisher out of those players not on one of the five teams to advance to the NCAA Championships.
>> GOLFSTAT
"It feels incredible," Piot said. "You dream of going to the national championship as a collegiate athlete. I just wish I could do it with my team. I'm going to make the most of it and enjoy it."
Only three players in the NCAA Kingston Springs Regional finished ahead of Piot, led by San Diego State's Puwit Anupansuebsai at 8-under-par 205. He was followed by Arkansas' Tyson Reeder at 7-under-par 206 and Vanderbilt's William Moll at 6-under-par 207. All three players were part of the five teams – Vanderbilt, Arkansas, San Diego State, NC State, Clemson – that advanced out of the regional to the NCAA Championships.
Piot was one of four players to finish tied for fourth place at 5-under-par, joining Clemson's Turk Pettit, San Diego State's Youssef Guezzale, Vanderbilt's Reid Davenport and NC State's Maximillian Steinlechner.
"It's obviously a huge accomplishment for James," MSU head coach Casey Lubahn said. "I was really proud of him the way he played down the stretch today. He kept hanging around for his opportunities and when he got them, he took advantage."
Piot's only bogey of the day came on the first hole. But he quickly recovered and recorded four consecutive pars before back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh holes to make the turn at 1-under-par. A birdie on the par-4 12th moved Piot up the leaderboard as he dropped to 2-under-par for the day.
The Canton native stayed consistent with four straight pars heading into the 17th hole. With two holes to play, Piot was tied with Virginia's Pietro Bovari and Loyola Maryland's Evan Brown at 4-under-par for the tournament and the lone individual bid to the NCAA Championships.
Piot responded by birdying the par-5, 580-yard 17th hole to break the tie and move into fourth place. He then sealed his bid to the national championships with par on the par-4 18th hole.
"I just tried to stay patient on the course," Piot said. "I knew that if I was a few shots under par today I would have a good chance. I was really thinking about winning the tournament.
"I didn't get off to the best start but stayed patient and got some good birdie looks down the stretch and took advantage of everything I had."
Piot will be the first Spartan to play at the NCAA Championships since MSU qualified as a team in 2007. The last Spartan to play as an individual at the NCAA Championships was Eric Jorgensen in 2002.
The 2021 NCAA Championships will be played at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 28-June 2.
>> GOLFSTAT
"It feels incredible," Piot said. "You dream of going to the national championship as a collegiate athlete. I just wish I could do it with my team. I'm going to make the most of it and enjoy it."
Only three players in the NCAA Kingston Springs Regional finished ahead of Piot, led by San Diego State's Puwit Anupansuebsai at 8-under-par 205. He was followed by Arkansas' Tyson Reeder at 7-under-par 206 and Vanderbilt's William Moll at 6-under-par 207. All three players were part of the five teams – Vanderbilt, Arkansas, San Diego State, NC State, Clemson – that advanced out of the regional to the NCAA Championships.
Piot was one of four players to finish tied for fourth place at 5-under-par, joining Clemson's Turk Pettit, San Diego State's Youssef Guezzale, Vanderbilt's Reid Davenport and NC State's Maximillian Steinlechner.
"It's obviously a huge accomplishment for James," MSU head coach Casey Lubahn said. "I was really proud of him the way he played down the stretch today. He kept hanging around for his opportunities and when he got them, he took advantage."
Piot's only bogey of the day came on the first hole. But he quickly recovered and recorded four consecutive pars before back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh holes to make the turn at 1-under-par. A birdie on the par-4 12th moved Piot up the leaderboard as he dropped to 2-under-par for the day.
The Canton native stayed consistent with four straight pars heading into the 17th hole. With two holes to play, Piot was tied with Virginia's Pietro Bovari and Loyola Maryland's Evan Brown at 4-under-par for the tournament and the lone individual bid to the NCAA Championships.
Piot responded by birdying the par-5, 580-yard 17th hole to break the tie and move into fourth place. He then sealed his bid to the national championships with par on the par-4 18th hole.
"I just tried to stay patient on the course," Piot said. "I knew that if I was a few shots under par today I would have a good chance. I was really thinking about winning the tournament.
"I didn't get off to the best start but stayed patient and got some good birdie looks down the stretch and took advantage of everything I had."
Piot will be the first Spartan to play at the NCAA Championships since MSU qualified as a team in 2007. The last Spartan to play as an individual at the NCAA Championships was Eric Jorgensen in 2002.
The 2021 NCAA Championships will be played at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 28-June 2.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
Ireland's Best | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, September 26
Supporting Heroes: Folds of Honor | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, September 19
Spartans All-Access: Folds of Honor Collegiate
Monday, September 11
Coach Lubhan | Weekly Press Conference | Aug. 28 2023
Monday, August 28