News

Check out what has been happening in Utah Golf.

Concepcion Headed To Stanford For NCAA Regional Action

By: Bryson Lester, SUU Assistant Director of Strategic Communications

CEDAR CITY, Utah – For the first time since 2009, a member of the Southern Utah men's golf team will be representing the university at NCAA Regional competition, as Fidel Concepcion will be competing at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California along with 13 teams and nine other individuals. Regional competition will run from May 15-17.

Last Time Out

After not getting out to the best start at the 2017 Big Sky Men's Golf Championship, Concepcion rallied on the final day to climb up the leaderboard. The junior from Sydney, Australia, shot a one-under 71 on the third day of competition in Boulder City to bring his three-day total to 226 (81, 74, 71). He finished in a tie for 13th place on the leaderboard with teammate Ali Hameed.

As a team the Thunderbirds ended the conference tournament in fifth place.

Fidel Concepcion

In just his third season on SUU's campus, Concepcion has cemented his legacy as one of the best golfers in the history of the SUU men's golf program.

Concepcion claimed victory in his very first NCAA event, placing first at the Battle in the Tetons in 2014. That same season he shot a 66, which is the third-lowest round any Thunderbird has ever shot. At the end of his freshman season, Concepcion had a scoring average of 73.3.

In his sophomore season Concepcion was able to bring his scoring average down even more, ending the year with a 72.31. He also claimed a victory that season, earning a first place finish at the Bill Cullum Invitational.

This season Concepcion has a scoring average of 71.42.

“My expectations are the same as every tournament,” he said about his mindset going into Regionals. “I'll do my homework on the golf course and worry about the shot at hand, and hopefully at the end of the week I'll come out on top.”

Concepcion has been named First Team All-Big Sky twice, as a sophomore and junior, and was named Second Team All-Big Sky as a freshman. He has also racked up nine Big Sky Men's Golfer of the Week honors in his time as a T-Bird.

“We're proud of Fidel and the great career he's had so far,” SUU head coach Richard Church said following the selection. “He had wins in each of his first two years and has broken a lot of our scoring records, and this is another big step in his career. And I'm sure he's not going to be content just being there, he will be competing for a Regional title and he has the skill set to do so.”

Regional History

Concepcion is only the third T-Bird to continue their season into NCAA Regional competition as an individual, with Nate Page doing so in 2009 and Kenny Ebalo reaching the mark in 2005.

Page competed in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and finished 21st on the leaderboard. Kenny Ebalo also competed on the Stanford Golf Course, finishing 97th in the field.

Regional Preview

The Stanford Golf Course is a Par-70 course that measures at 6,727-yard in length. Competitors will play 18 holes each day, for a total of 54 holes.

The low individual will move on to the NCAA National Championships.

Participating Teams (By Seeding): Stanford, Baylor, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Pepperdine, North Carolina, North Florida, BYU, Houston, Ohio State, UC Santa Barbara, Sacramento State and South Dakota State

Participating Individuals: Sollin Morikawa (California), Hayden Shieh (Santa Clara), David Kim (UC Irvine), Justin Doeden (Minnesota), Andres Gonzalez (Long Beach State), Felix Mory (Cal State Northridge), Fidel Concepcion (Southern Utah), Grant Booth (Nevada), Brian Humphreys (Boise State), Mike Graboyes (Cornell)

2016-17 Big Sky Men's Golfer of the Week Awards

10/19/2016 – Fidel Concepcion

2/22/2017 – Fidel Concepcion

3/01/2017 – Fidel Concepcion

3/22/2017 – Fidel Concepcion