May 14, 2017 NCAA Stanford Regional Tournament Notes 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Mike McGraw had never seen anything like what his Baylor men's golf team pulled off in last year's regional in Kohler, Wis.
Not only did the Bears shoot a program-record 14-under 274, they made 17 birdies on the back nine and rallied to beat Idaho for the final qualifying spot for the sixth NCAA National Championship berth in school history.
"You're in a pressure situation, do-or-die, on a good golf course against a really good field, and you make 17 birdies the last eight holes," McGraw said. "A lot of coaches said they've never seen that. I had not. I've seen coming from behind in the last eight holes, but not 17 birdies on a quality golf course. I know the kids have confidence that they can pull off something like that. I just don't want to be in that position. I'd like to be in a comfortable position the last day."
Making their 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the ninth-ranked Baylor men are seeded second for the 13-team Stanford Regional that begins Monday at Stanford Golf Course. The top five teams advance to the NCAA Championships that will be held May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
"You don't really have to do anything differently," McGraw said. "If we take care of things the way we've been taking care of it basically the whole year, we'll be fine."
Baylor's going with the same lineup it's had for the previous 10 tournaments with freshman Cooper Dossey, sophomores Braden Bailey and Garrett May, junior Matthew Perrine and senior Hunter Shattuck.
After seven straight top-3 finishes, including three team titles, the Bears placed fourth at The Maxwell and sixth at The Big 12 Championship. But, McGraw believes "we're going to be a little different team than we've been the last two tournaments."
Dossey is coming off a wrist injury, "and he's just about back to normal," McGraw said. And at last Monday's U.S. Open qualifying tournament, Shattuck and Bailey tied for first with matching rounds of 68.
"That was really good to see them kind of back to competitive golf," McGraw said. "And then Cooper back to being the Cooper he is, he's healthy. I think we're going to be a little different team than we've been the last two tournaments. They had a good practice round (Sunday), so let's hope that continues."
Stanford is one of six regional sites and includes six top-35 teams in the latest Golfstat rankings. Top-seeded Stanford is ranked fourth, followed by Baylor, third-seeded Oklahoma (15th), Georgia Tech (21st), Pepperdine (27th) and North Carolina (33rd), with North Florida, BYU, Houston, Ohio State, UC Santa Barbara, Sacramento State and South Dakota State rounding out the field.
"Stanford is a legitimate No. 1 seed," McGraw said. "They're on their home course, so you know they're going to be good. Oklahoma, their coach, is one of the guys I probably respect as much as anybody in college golf. Ryan Hybl gets the best out of his players. He's basically built a top-15 team over the last six years, and he's done it without superstars. He's done it with a lot of meat-and-potato guys. You have to respect the job he's done and the way his kids compete.
"Anytime you're at regionals, there's good teams. I know it may not seem that way at the bottom, but certainly the top is very good."
Paired with Stanford and Oklahoma, Baylor's golfers will tee off between 10:30 and 11:14 a.m. CDT off the No. 1 tee box. The three-day, 54-hole tournament continues with rounds on Monday and Wednesday, with live scoring available at www.golfstat.com.
WACO, Texas -- The No. 9-ranked Baylor men's golf team begins the 2017 NCAA Tournament at the Stanford (Calif.) Regional, which runs Monday through Wednesday at Stanford Golf Course.
Host Stanford is the No. 1 seed at the Regional, followed by No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Georgia Tech, No. 5 Pepperdine, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 7 North Florida, No. 8 BYU, No. 9 Houston, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 11 UC Santa Barbara, No. 12 Sacramento State and No. 13 South Dakota State. The one through six seeds are all among Golfstat's top 35 nationally, and 11 teams in the regional are ranked among the nation's top 70.
Baylor is making its 20th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and seeking its seventh NCAA Championships berth. If the Bears finish among the top five teams at the Regional, they'll advance to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. It would be the second back-to-back Championships berths in program history, with 1966 and 1967 the only previous consecutive appearances. Baylor also played in the NCAA Championships in 1960, 2002, 2010 and 2016.
The three-day, 54-hole Regional is on the par-70, 6,727-yard Stanford Golf Course. In addition to the top five teams, the lowest scoring individual from a non-advancing team will also move on to the Championships, which run May 26-31.
BU has competed against six of its 12 Stanford Regional opponents during the 2016-17 season, and the Bears have a combined 8-3 head-to-head record against those teams -- Oklahoma (0-2), Georgia Tech (1-0), Pepperdine (1-0), North Carolina (1-1), Houston (4-0) and Ohio State (1-0).
The same five players have been in Baylor's lineup all season. For the Stanford Regional, sophomore Braden Bailey is in the No. 1 spot, followed by junior Matthew Perrine, freshman Cooper Dossey, sophomore Garrett May and senior Hunter Shattuck. Bailey, Perrine and Dossey combined to give Baylor three All-Big 12 Team members for the first time in program history, and Dossey became the second Baylor player to win Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
Baylor is in the first group off the tee for Monday's first round, and the Bears are paired with players from Stanford and Oklahoma. Shattuck is up first 10:30 a.m. CT, and he'll be followed in 11-minute intervals by May, Dossey, Perrine and Bailey, respectively.
Head coach Mike McGraw has led Baylor to NCAA Regionals in each of his three seasons leading the program. The Bears advanced to the 2016 NCAA Championships by tying for fourth place at the NCAA Kohler Regional a season ago, earning the sixth NCAA Championships berth in program history and first since 2010.
For live scoring information throughout the tournament, visit www.golfstat.com. Follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter and Facebook for updates throughout the season.
NCAA Stanford Regional Seeds (Golfstat ranking)
1. Stanford (4)
2. Baylor (9)
3. Oklahoma (15)
4. Georgia Tech (21)
5. Pepperdine (27)
6. North Carolina (33)
7. North Florida (41)
8. BYU (45)
9. Houston (51)
10. Ohio State (58)
11. UC Santa Barbara (66)
12. Sacramento State (107)
13. South Dakota State (196)
