Omni La Costa gets two more years of NCAA D-I golf championships
The many advantages of Omni La Costa have earned the Carlsbad, California, resort two additional years of the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships.
The NCAA announced Wednesday that its premier golf championships would be hosted on the Gil Hanse-designed North Course through 2028 after the course previously locked up a three-year agreement, which began this past May.
“I’m thrilled,” said Texas head coach John Fields, who has spearheaded the effort to hold the NCAA Championships at La Costa in perpetuity and whose daughter, April Workman, leads the newly created College World Golf Championships Foundation.
“I think from the college golf perspective, both men and women, it gives us an opportunity to have a home, or at least the possibility of a home going forward, which means we’re going to have a platform to really build the brand of Division I college golf. And what that does is it gives our student athletes a chance for a much higher quality event and significant more exposure, and all those things are important as we continue to make college golf important in college sports landscape.”
La Costa’s debut was highlighted by overly positive reviews of Hanse’s North Course renovation, which cost upward of $20 million and provided great theatre, especially in match play. The west-coast time slot will always be the preferred TV option. Players and coaches all staying on site was another benefit, though some coaches did lament the price of lodging and the substandard food, which as the competition wore on received decreasing attention from the teams in favor of off-site options.
Fields told Golf Channel last month that the food was their top priority outside of the golf course, which was still in its late growing stages last May, meaning the demanding greens were slightly firmer than desired. Among the potential adjustments to the course is a par-5 18th hole that will entice more players to hit driver and go for the green in two, something that was lacking last season, especially for the women.
The Stanford women and Auburn men, both No. 1 in the national rankings entering nationals, walked away with NCAA titles at La Costa, showing that the layout could also produce worthy champions.
In addition to extending La Costa, the NCAA announced two NCAA D-I men’s regional site replacements, Atkins Golf Club in Urbana, Illinois, and Auburn University Club in Auburn, Alabama. They take the place of Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The 2027 and 2028 regional sites were also revealed:
D-I MEN’S REGIONALS
2027
TPC Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina (Coastal Carolina)
Pfau Golf Course, Bloomington, Indiana (Indiana)
Karsten Creek, Stillwater, Oklahoma (Oklahoma State)
Rawls Course, Lubbock, Texas (Texas Tech)
Gallery Golf Club, Marana, Arizona (Arizona)
Tennessee National, Loudon, Tennessee (Tennessee)
2028
PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (Florida Atlantic)
Stanford Golf Course, Stanford, California (Stanford)
Vanderbilt Legends Club, Franklin, Tennessee (Vanderbilt)
Championship Course at UNM, Albuquerque, New Mexico (New Mexico)
Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, Norman, Oklahoma (Oklahoma)
Warren Golf Course, Notre Dame, Indiana (Notre Dame)
D-I WOMEN’S REGIONALS
2027
PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (Florida Atlantic)
Sycamore Hills Golf Club, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Purdue-Fort Wayne)
Trinity Forest, Dallas
Stanford Golf Course, Stanford, California (Stanford)
Old Barnwell, Aiken, South Carolina (South Carolina)
Vanderbilt Legends Club, Franklin, Tennessee (Vanderbilt)
2028
Mark Bostick Golf Course, Gainesville, Florida (Florida)
TPC Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois (Iowa)
Eugene Country Club, Eugene, Oregon (Oregon)
University of Texas Golf Club, Austin, Texas (Texas)
Seattle Golf Club, Shoreline, Washington (Washington)
Bermuda Run Country Club, Bermuda Run, North Carolina (Wake Forest)