Two Malaysians will tee up in the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship which starts on Friday at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona – Khavish Varadan in University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) colours and Ervin Chang representing Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Coming off an excellent freshman season for the UAB ‘Blazers’ men’s golf team, Khavish will be making his debut in the post-season NCAA finale. The six-day tournament (May 28-June 2) will see 30 college teams competing over four rounds of strokeplay, with a cut to the top 15 teams and top nine players not on those teams after 54 holes. The top eight teams after 72 holes will progress to the matchplay stage to decide the 2021 NCAA national champion.
Ranked second on the UAB team for the 2020-2021 season with a 72.3 stroke average, Khavish has been in great form recently. The 20-year-old from Kuala Lumpur was individual runner-up at the Conference USA Championship in late April and, just a week later, picked up his first collegiate title at the PGA Works Collegiate Championship at TPC Sawgrass, an event open only to minority collegiate golfers.
UAB qualified for the NCAA Championship by claiming the fifth and final spot at the Noblesville Regional, with Khavish finishing T23 on even-par after rounds of 74, 70 and 72 at The Sagamore Club.
With the Liberty ‘Flames’ men’s golf team qualifying via the Tallahassee Regional in fourth place, Ervin will be making his second NCAA Championship appearance. The 23-year-old Liberty senior placed T28 in the Tallahassee qualifier on one-over-par after rounds of 76, 69 and 72 at Seminole Legacy Golf Club.
Recently named ASUN Conference Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the second time, Ervin will be completing his Master’s programme in player development this summer and has voiced his intention to turn professional following internship.
The NCAA Championship was not staged in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
