PROVO — BYU men's golf didn't have to wait long to hear its name during Wednesday's NCAA men's golf regional selection show.
The 24th-ranked Cougars will open the postseason at UGA Golf Course in Athens, Georgia as the No. 4 seed in the Athens regional hosted by Georgia. Auburn drew the top seed in the regional, followed by Illinois and Vanderbilt.
The Bulldogs rounded out the top-five seeds in the regional field.
No. 35 Utah will open as the No. 6 seed in the Columbus regional hosted by Ohio State at OSU Golf Club. Florida claimed the No. 1 seed in the regional, followed by Arizona State, Stanford, Big West champion Long Beach State and Florida State.
Six 54-hole regional tournaments held May 18-20 will advance the top-five teams and the low individual not on a qualifying team to the 2026 NCAA men's golf championships, held May 29 through June 3 at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, California.
The Utes and Cougars are among 12 teams from the Big 12 Conference in the regional round, led by the defending national champion and Big 12 champ Oklahoma State as the No. 1 seed in Arizona's Marana regional. The Wildcats are the No. 3 seed on home soil at Gallery Golf Club about 20 miles northwest of Tucson.
Headed to the Athens Regional👊 pic.twitter.com/o8cwTcC1Lx
— BYU Men's Golf (@BYUmgolf) May 6, 2026
It marks the third consecutive season the Utes have qualified for a regional, and the seventh time in program history.
"We are excited to go," Utah coach Garrett Clegg said in a news release. "It is great to be in this tournament — no matter what region you get sent to. I love this one because there isn't a host school, so there is no true home course advantage for anyone. It will be great to be up there. Grass is very similar to ours and the course look is very similar to ours, so it will be a lot like playing at home."
The Cougars are led by star freshman Kihei Akina, the two-time tournament champion with a 68.92 scoring average ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Scoreboard player rankings and No. 29 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).
On Wednesday, the former Lone Peak star and reigning Utah Open champion became the only freshman named to the 15-player list for the Fred Haskins Award given annually to the most outstanding male collegiate golfer in the United States. Akina is one of just two Big 12 golfers named to the list, which also includes Oklahoma State junior (and three-time Big 12 individual champion) Preston Stout.
Akina will also represent the United States this summer at the Arnold Palmer Cup, the organization announced Tuesday. The 12-man U.S. roster will face the international team in the 30th edition of the Ryder Cup-style event July 3-5 at Tralee Golf Club in County Kerry, Ireland.
— Utah Men's Golf (@UtesGolf) May 6, 2026
