Tennessee golf with solid start at NCAA Championships

Tennessee’s men’s golf team began the NCAA Championships in California with a team score of 4 over par and sits inside the top 15. Volquest caught up with head coach Brennan Webb to get his thoughts on the opening round.

“Two sides of the coin,” Webb said. “Bruce (Murphy) being out of it all day made it feel like we escaped what could have been a disastrous day. But also making three 6’s in the last 4 holes leaves a little feeling of what could have been.”

Looking at where Tennessee is positioned on the leaderboard versus previous years, Webb knows it’s a good start but they have work to do.

“We need to play a solid round tomorrow afternoon and stay within the top 15 to get the advantageous tee times the third round,” Webb said. “Getting off to a good start and having someone shoot 4 or 5 under wouldn’t hurt!”

Murphy is a lightning rod for this team. He shot 80 on the opening day but is just as capable of throwing up a 66 tomorrow.

“He has been playing well and hitting it well,” Webb said. “I expect he will bounce back tomorrow.”

Chase Kyes has a winners mentality and he paced the team in the opening round with a 1-under 71.

“Chase was the best player in the 2025 class for a reason,” Webb said. “He is more than capable of contending in any tourney he enters and he is starting to find his footing as a college player.”

Tennessee will now play round two on Saturday in the afternoon wave. The top 15 teams after round three will qualify for a fourth round where the top eight will move on to match play. This is the third straight season the Vols have made it to California.