The 2025 NCAA DI Men’s Golf Championship saw the top 30 teams in country tee off today at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif.
While coaches and players alike both prefer playing in the morning, it was the afternoon wave that saw most of the birdies (and eagles!) today. The wind didn’t pick up as much as expected, so it will be interesting to see how the next few days play out since today’s afternoon wave will tee off tomorrow morning.
Taking the early lead is the University of Oklahoma at 8-under. With three of their five players shooting under par, they had a great showing today.
Oklahoma missed the cut into the Quarterfinals last year by one stroke, leaving them out of match play for the championship title. Let’s see if they can exact some revenge on the course and maintain their lead the next three days.
2025 NCAA DI Men’s Leaderboard After Round 1
Below are the overall leaders after the first day at Omni La Costa.
Team Leaderboard
1. Oklahoma (-8)
T2. Florida State (-3)
T2. Florida (-3)
T2. Texas (-3)
T5. Arizona State (-2)
T5. Auburn (-2)
T5. Illinois (-2)
T8. Brigham Young (+1)
T8. Colorado (+1)
T8. California (+1)
11. Georgia (+3)
T12. Texas Tech (+4)
T12. Troy (+4)
T14. Oklahoma State (+5)
T14. USF (+5)
T14. Ole Miss (+5)
T14. Pepperdine (+5)
T14. Georgia Tech (+5)
T19. San Diego (+6)
T19. Vanderbilt (+6)
21. Augusta (+7)
22. Wake Forest (+8)
T23. Texas A&M (+9)
T23. New Mexico (+9)
T25. UNLV (+11)
T25. Virginia (+11)
27. UCLA (+13)
28. South Carolina (+14)
29. Tennessee (+16)
30. Purdue (+19)
Top 10 Individuals
1. Phichaksn Maichon (Texas A&M, -6)*
T2. Tommy Morrison (Texas, -5)
T2. Carter Loflin (Georgia, -5)
T4. Connor Williams (Arizona State, -4)
T4. Michael La Sasso (Ole Miss, -4)*
T4. Jackson Van Paris (Vanderbilt, -4)
T4. Charlie Berridge (California, -4)
T4. Ryan Voois (Illinois, -4)
T4. Clark Van Gaalen (Oklahoma, -4)
T4. Max Herendeen (Illinois, -4)
T4. Justin Biwer (Colorado, -4)
* Indicates player a Haskins Award Finalist
Morning Wave Leaders
San Diego was in the lead for quite some time this morning, even after one of their players hit one of the telephone lines and had to re-tee without penalty; Cooper Humphreys went on to par the 14th hole.
We also saw the rise of Carter Loflin of Georgia, who was the only morning wave player to shoot 5-under. He had a bogey-free round with birdies on three of the four par-5s, a par 4 and a par 3.
Last year’s winner, Hiroshi Tai from Georgia Tech, shot even this round, keeping himself in the mix.
Afternoon Wave Leaders
The afternoon wave came out swinging today. Typically, the scores are stronger in the morning, but some of the top-ranked teams were slated for the afternoon and it showed.
Oklahoma quickly rose to the top of the leaderboard, led by Clark Van Gaalen at 4-under. Texas and Brigham Young were also near the top for their first nine holes before Florida State and Florida caught up to Texas.
All eyes were on Florida State’s Luke Clanton, back at Omni La Costa after his heartbreaking loss last year in the finals and, on a brighter note, after earning his PGA Tour card. He’s a top candidate for the Haskins Award, which will be presented near the end of the tournament to the top Division 1 male golfer. We can confirm Clanton’s composure, lightheartedness and focus is still intact – after his double-bogey on hole 15, he hit his wedge to three or four feet at the par-3 16th and went on to birdie the 17th hole as well. He was joking with the coaches and praising his competitors’ shots despite a double-bogey bringing him back to even. He ended the day at 2-under.
Follow along tomorrow on Instagram (@fairwaytogreen) and see if the afternoon wave will have as much luck with the wind as today’s.
