Skip to main content

JUNE MADNESS

The NCAA Championships are to be held Wednesday through Saturday at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. Here are the 10 teams we think have the best shot at the title.

[originallink:10811216:721198]

Team Rank

Famous Alum

Stud

Skinny

1 Oklahoma State

Charles Howell

Pablo Martin. The freshman from Malaga, Spain, won twice and was a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award.

Oklahoma State won seven of 11 events and dominated head-to-head play against our top 10.

2 UNLV

Adam Scott

Ryan Moore. He finished 13th at this year's Masters and has the best stroke average in D-I: 69.08.

The Rebels had only one win during the season but were consistent, never finishing out of the top 10.

3 Augusta State

Vaughn Taylor

Scott Jamieson. He beat a deep field at the Hootie at Bulls Bay and was golfer of the year for independents.

The Jaguars upset Oklahoma State to take the Central Regional by nine, with senior Kalle Edberg winning.

4 Georgia

Chip Beck

David Denham. A senior all-SEC selection, he led the team in scoring (72.44) and had six top 10 finishes.

Despite the nation's second-toughest schedule, Georgia won three and went 119-18-1 against top 100 teams.

5 New Mexico

Tommy Armour III

Spencer Levin. Ranked second in the country, he's a good putter and was low amateur at the '04 U.S. Open.

Madalitso Muthiya, a great ball striker from Zambia, has helped Levin and the Lobos win four times in 2005.

6 Wake Forest

Arnold Palmer

Sean Moore. He became the team leader last year when he won the ACC Championship as a freshman.

The Deacons are young, starting two freshmen, but the team's wire-to-wire East Regional win shows it's maturing.

7 Florida

Chris DiMarco

Matt Every. The all-SEC junior and 2005 Palmer Cup player can go low: He shot a 63 in the East Regional.

The Gators are loaded, boasting eight guys who could be the No. 1 or 2 player on most teams.

8 Georgia Tech

David Duval

Robert Castro. The sophomore had five top 10s, including three in a row, and his score counted in 11 of 12 events.

The deep Jackets have four all-ACC players, including senior Chan Song, the brother of pros Aree and Naree.

9 Kentucky

Steve Flesch

John Holmes. Twelve of his 30 rounds have been under par, and he placed in the top 10 in six of 10 events.

Four seniors return from a top 10 team in the 2004 NCAAs, and they're all long, an edge at 7,165-yard Caves Valley.

10 Duke

Joe Ogilvie

Michael Schrachner. The freshman willed Duke into the finals with a second-round 63 and solo fifth in the East Regional.

With seniors Nate Smith and Ryan Blaum, solid ball strikers and great putters, Duke has a shot at the title.

COLOR PHOTO

SCOTT HALLERAN/GETTY IMAGES (HOWELL)

COLOR PHOTO

JOHN CORDES/US PRESSWIRE (SCOTT)

COLOR PHOTO

CHRIS LIVINGSTON/ICON SMI (TAYLOR)

COLOR PHOTO

MARK DADSWELL/GETTY IMAGES (BECK)

COLOR PHOTO

STEVE GRAYSON/WIREIMAGE.COM

COLOR PHOTO

PETE FONTAINE/WIREIMAGE.COM (PALMER)

COLOR PHOTO

JOHN GRESS/REUTERS (DIMARCO)

COLOR PHOTO

ICON SMI (DUVAL)

COLOR PHOTO

STEVE GRAYSON/WIREIMAGE.COM

COLOR PHOTO

STEVE GRAYSON/WIREIMAGE.COM