SAN MARCOS, Texas – Sakke Siltala is set to make history starting Friday when he opens action at the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship.
The junior is the first Texas State men's golfer to qualify for the event in program history. The team had a four year stretch at the Division II level when it won the 1983 National Championship and placed second in 1982 and third in 1984 before making the transition to DI in 1984.
Siltala qualified for the championship by tying for second at the NCAA Amherst Regional and finishing as the top individual not on an advancing team. He is one of six individuals competing alongside 30 teams in California.
A back-to-back All-Sun Belt Conference Second-Team selection and two-time SBC Golfer of the Week in 2024-25, Siltala enters the event with a 70.7 scoring average across 11 tournaments and finished atop the TXST lineup in seven of 10 events. Overall, he collected four top five finishes, seven in the top 10 and eight in the top 25.
The junior carded 13 rounds in the 60s and led the Bobcats with all 30 rounds counting toward the team score, 21 rounds even or under par and 124 birdies, while sharing the team lead with three eagles. In all, he finished eight tournaments under par.
Championship Format
All 30 teams and six individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play. Following 54 holes of competition, the top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team will advance for one additional day of stroke play to determine the top eight teams for match-play competition and the 72-hole stroke-play individual champion.
For teams, the top eight teams after 72 holes of play will be placed into a bracket thereafter for match play to determine a national champion.
Tee Times and Pairings
Friday - Round One
10:42 a.m. CT/8:42 a.m. PT | Hole No. 1 | Claes Borregaard (Kennesaw State) and Braxton Watts (Utah)
Saturday - Round Two
4:02 p.m. CT/2:02 p.m. PT | Hole No. 10 | Claes Borregaard (Kennesaw State) and Braxton Watts (Utah)
Sunday - Round Three
TBD
Course Information
Omni La Costa Resort & Spa | Carlsbad, Calif.
Par 72 | 7,548 yards
NCAA Championship Qualifiers
Amherst Regional
| No. 6 Oklahoma |
| No. 16 Vanderbilt |
| No. 23 Tennessee |
| No. 40 Wake Forest |
| No. 21 Pepperdine |
Individual: No. 156
Sakke Siltala, Texas State
Urbana Regional
| No. 12 Illinois |
| No. 2 Oklahoma State |
| No. 31 UNLV |
| No. 46 Troy |
| No. 24 Texas Tech |
Individual: No. 34 Hunter Thomson, Michigan
Auburn Regional
| No. 1 Auburn |
| No. 11 Texas A&M |
| No. 14 UCLA |
| No. 36 Purdue |
| No. 26 Georgia Tech |
Individual: No. 62 Claes Borregaard, Kennesaw State
Bremerton Regional
| No. 7 Florida |
| No. 5 Arizona State |
| No. 29 Colorado |
| No. 27 South Florida |
| No. 20 South Carolina |
Individual: No. 138 Braxton Watts, Utah
Reno Regional
| No. 19 Brigham Young |
| No. 10 Virginia |
| No. 4 Texas |
| No. 39 San Diego |
| No. 49 California |
Individual: No. 61 Bryan Kim, Duke
Tallahassee Regional
| No. 9 Florida State |
| No. 3 Ole Miss |
| No. 42 New Mexico |
| No. 22 Georgia |
| No. 93 Augusta |
Individual: No. 18 Jacob Modleski, Notre Dame
