TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Andrew Novak concluded his run through the 2016 NCAA Men's Golf Championship with a final-round even-par 72 on Wednesday at Ol' Colony Golf Club. Novak finished tied for 17th in the Tuscaloosa Regional with a 54-hole score of 1-over-par 217, the lowest by a Terrier at regionals in the program's Division I history.
 
Wednesday's final round felt completely different from Novak's first two. Instead of scrambling around the golf course and filling his card with all sorts of scores, the junior had a fairly tame round of three birdies and three bogeys. Starting on 10, he got as low as 2-under on the round with his second birdie of the day at the par-3 17th.
 
"Today's round was a lot different from the first two. I actually hit it well today, but couldn't make the putts I was making yesterday," Novak said. "I got the same result, just a different way to get there."
 
Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to advance past regionals and qualify for the NCAA Championship in Eugene, Oregon. The low individual outside of the top five teams earns the regional's final spot at nationals, and that honor went to College of Charleston's William Rainey, who shot a 7-under-par 209. Rainey carded a final-round 4-under 68 and was the third-lowest individual overall.
 
"You have to play really well to move on in this," Novak added. "I was happy with how I played. Obviously, it wasn't enough, but there was definitely more good than bad this week."
 
Novak's 54-hole score marks the lowest by a Terrier at NCAA Regionals in the program's Div. I era. The previous low belonged to Garrett Medeiros, who shot a 9-over-par 219 in Atlanta in 2010.
 
"I thought Andrew played great all three days," Southern Conference Coach of the Year Vic Lipscomb stated. "He had a lot of birdies with some eagles and, of course, he had some bogeys, but this is a really tough course. He hung in there, chipped well and putted well. This is as big of a stage as there is in college golf and he handled it very nicely."
 
Georgia won the regional with a team score of 16-under-par 848. Also advancing to Eugene from the team side were South Carolina (-12), Alabama (-7), Kentucky (-6) and Auburn (+3).
 
Novak came into the final round four shots behind Rainey for the honor of moving onto nationals. The Academic Magnet product sank his first birdie of the round on his second hole, the par-4 11th, bombing a drive over 320 yards and leaving less than 100 yards to the green. His approach landed in close and he knocked down a 5-footer to get to red numbers.
 
"I really struggled with that tee shot the last two days," the All-SoCon selection said about the 11th. "I worked on it on the range and finally got it down. I hit my drive way down in the fairway and hit a pretty good wedge shot in close. That's how you're supposed to play that hole."
 
Birdie chances from seven and five feet at 13 and 14 did not fall, but Novak was able to get up-and-down at the par-4 15th to remain 1-under.
 
His next birdie came at the 191-yard 17th. The pin didn't move much from Tuesday's second round and the Terrier junior took advantage, striking a nearly identical shot to give himself an opportunity. His ball landed on the left side of the green and he rolled in his second birdie of the day from less than 10 feet.
 
Novak then stepped up to the 18th – the hole he buried a 100-foot putt from on Tuesday – 2-under on the round. His tee shot found the trees left, but an incredible shot from over 230 yards got him on the green in regulation with 30-40 feet left for birdie. However, he three-putted, costing him his first bogey.
 
"I didn't want to hit my tee shot in the water, so I chose the trees on the left instead," Novak said. "I hit a really good shot from under a tree to about 40 feet. Then, I just hit a terrible putt. I completely misjudged it and came up way short. It was sloppy."
 
Another bogey at the first brought Novak back to even on the round. He got it back though on the second. After eagling the hole Monday and birdieing it Tuesday, Novak put himself in good position for another good score by nearly driving the green from 319 yards. His tee shot found the hill short of the green on the left, setting him up with a creative ship shot that he ran to the ridge behind the hole and brought back down within five feet. He sank the birdie putt to get back under par.
 
"I like that hole." Novak went on to say. "It's a short hole. You have to use angles and be creative. I knew where the pin was and the easiest place to be was left. I hit a good drive to the left and used the slope on my second to get close to the hole. It was an easy putt from there."
 
He nearly caught lighting in a bottle for the second time in as many days two holes later. Novak stepped up to the par-3 fourth that looks downhill to the green and hit a 5-iron from 225 yards that hit the center of the green, caught the ridge and was tracking right at the hole. Just when it looked like he was going to ace it, the ball singed the left side of the cup and rolled a good 20 feet by. He two-putted for par.
 
"I struggled on that hole the last couple of days. I knew the pin was a little easier today so I went for it," Novak added. "I couldn't quite see the hole so I didn't know how close it actually was to going in. It didn't settle too close, unfortunately."
 
By the time Novak walked off the fourth, Rainey had all but sealed his fate as the individual that would move on. Still, Novak was playing for a potential top-10 finish until a 3-putt bogey at the eighth dropped him back to 1-over for the tournament. He was fortunate enough to save a par on the closing ninth after his tee shot found the water for a second straight day, hitting a great approach shot within 12 feet and converting his final putt.
 
"That was big," Novak concluded about the ninth. "It was the second day in a row I put my drive in the water on the last hole. It was not ideal. I was just trying to make something good come out of it and made a good shot in there and hit a good putt."
 
Coach Lipscomb is excited at the potential for Novak next year, as well as the rest of the team.
 
"I think Andrew will be the Southern Conference Player of the Year next year," Lipscomb predicted. "The team is going to make it and everyone is going to make it. Wherever we go next year, I'm looking forward to it.
 
"We want to win the national championship. That's the goal when we start our practices in September. To do that, we've got to get the team here and get some great players into Wofford. I think we've got some coming and I'm looking so forward to next year. I think we might have the best team we've ever had."
 
Tuscaloosa Regional – May 16-18
Ol' Colony Golf Club – Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Par 72, 7,512 Yards
 
Team Leaderboard: Top 5 Advance to NCAA Finals

1. (5) Georgia	-16 (848)
2. (17) South Carolina	-12 (852)
3. (19) Alabama	-7 (857)
4. (32) Kentucky	-6 (858)
5. (8) Auburn	+3 (867)

 
Individual Leaderboard: Final

1. (31) Greyson Sigg, Georgia	-9 (207)
2. (16) Matthew NeSmith, South Carolina	-8 (208)
3. (86) William Rainey, CofC	-7 (209)
T4. (26) Davis Riley, Alabama	-6 (210)
T4. (44) Tyler McDaniel, Kentucky	-6 (210)
T6. Lukas Euler, Kentucky	-4 (212)
T6. (64) Zach Healy, Georgia	-4 (212)
8. (70) John Oda, UNLV	-3 (213)
9. (82) Keenan Huskey, South Carolina	-2 (214)
T10. Four golfers…	-1 (215)
--
T17. Andrew Novak, Wofford	+1 (217)

 
Individual Leaderboard: Players Outside Top 5 Teams

1. (86) William Rainey, CofC	-7 (209)
2. (70) John Oda, UNLV	-3 (213)
3. Zane Thomas, UNLV	-1 (215)
4. Andrew Novak, Wofford	+1 (217)
T5. (40) Jeremy Paul, Colorado	+3 (219)
T5. Braden Thornberry, Ole Miss	+3 (219)
T7. Manuel Elvira, UCF	+4 (220)
T7. Wes Gosselin, Chattanooga	+4 (220)
T7. (56) David Kocher, Maryland	+4 (220)
10. Connor Peck, Kansas	+5 (221)