The Virginia men’s golf team teed off at the 2025 NCAA Reno Regional this week, looking to finish in the top five of the 14-team field and qualify for a third straight NCAA Championship. The event, held at the Montreux Golf & Country Club in Reno, Nev., ended Wednesday. Virginia finished second at 11-under par, four strokes behind first-place BYU, tied for its best performance in a regional in program history.
Senior Paul Chang had an incredible week himself, becoming the Cavaliers’ second-ever individual regional champion thanks to shooting 10-under, three strokes better than the second-place finisher.
Chang put on a clinic throughout the event, carding two four-under 68s and a two-under 70 to cruise to the title. He ended the first day holding the tournament’s top spot and never relinquished it, fighting off all comers until the trophy was his. He attacked the course with care and precision, scoring 14 birdies through the three rounds, while only tallying five bogeys. His true edge came on the par 5s, where he finished an astonishing 9-under par for the tournament, good enough to make the difference.
The average scores for the tournament were 76 for the first round and 73 for the second and third. This meant Chang managed to be eight strokes above average in the first round, another key that allowed him to create a sizable lead from the start. His cumulative score of 206 was tied for the second-lowest ever by a Cavalier in regional play.
Junior Ben James had a solid week as well, signing a solid three-under for the tournament. He had a great third round to cap off the event, finishing with a three-under 69 thanks to four birdies and just one bogey. This earned him the seventh spot on the individual leaderboard, making him the second of three Virginia golfers in the top ten for the tournament.
The third was senior Deven Patel, who finished the week at two-under and in 10th place. Despite a shaky first two rounds, which saw him enter the third day at three-over, he got hot when it mattered and finished strong. He birdied his first hole of the third round, then bogeyed the next hole. From that point on, he made birdie on five of his next seven holes and did not make bogey again the rest of the round. His 67 was tied for the lowest final round in the field.
This trip will be Virginia’s 20th to the NCAA Championship, half of which have come under the guidance of Coach Bowen Sargent. The championship will host a 30-team field, with play beginning May 23 at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. Each team will complete 54 holes of stroke play, and the top 15 teams will play another 18 holes to narrow the field down to eight teams. These eight teams will then be placed into a match play bracket to determine the champion.
Last season, Virginia finished third in stroke play and lost to eventual national champion Auburn in the match play quarterfinals, and two seasons ago, it finished seventh in stroke play and also lost in the quarterfinals. This year, it will hope to advance further.
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