CARLSBAD, Calif. — Ole Miss Junior Michael La Sasso overcame a double bogey with his back nine pair on Monday when he won the NCAA Men’s title and took him to an even par 72 to send the Rebels to the team portion of the championship.
La Sasso finished at 11 under 277 in a two-shot victory over Texas A&M’s Fichuxun Miacon, becoming the only Ole Miss golfer to win the NCAA title.
The victory will send 21-year-old La Sasso to the US Open in two weeks and to the Masters in April next year.
He was equally excited about Ole Miss. Ole Miss grabbed the eighth and final spots moving forward in line with his next two days of play at La Costa Resort. The Rebels completed one shot before Florida. This is a tough outcome for Luke Clanton’s college career.
Having won two runner-ups on the PGA Tour and won a tour card through the PGA Tour University rankings for underclassmen, Clanton continued his stretch with two bogeys. He missed a birdie chance on the final hole and closed at 76 as the Seminoles finished in ninth place.
La Sasso entered the final day with a two-shot lead and started on the 10th. He birded two opening holes to recover Miacon’s lead and ran into trouble with double bogeys on Nos 15 and 17.
However, he held the clean cards the rest of the way, and Miacon birded his opening two holes. Miacon didn’t make another birdie and finished with 72.
“It’s really special to have a bit of a rough patch midway through the round and then be able to come back,” La Sasso said.
The world’s number one amateur, Clanton will make his professional debut at the RBC Canada Open next week.
Arizona State has the No. 1 seed over defending champion Auburn and will face Ole Miss in the match play quarterfinals on Tuesday. The semi-finals will be Tuesday afternoon, followed by Wednesday’s championship match.
The other five teams moving forward were Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Texas and Virginia. Six of the eight teams come from the Southeastern Conference.
