Wednesday, May 14
Amherst, Va.
7:30 AM
Liberty University
vs
NCAA Amherst Regional
Joy Posts Top 50 Finish at NCAA Amherst Regional
5/14/2025 4:54:00 PM | Men's Golf
AMHERST, Va. – Liberty's Ike Joy added one more achievement to his career year, posting his best-ever career finish at an NCAA Men's Golf Regional event.
Joy finished the NCAA Amherst Regional in a tie for 46th place, posting an 8-over par 218 (75-72-21) at the Poplar Grove Golf Club (par 70, 7,217 yards) in Amherst, Va.
Liberty University served as the host for the NCAA Regional event and was one of the six Regional host sites which determined the field at this year's NCAA Men's Golf National Championship.
The NCAA Amherst Regional was plagued by challenging weather issues and Wednesday's final round was no different.
After completing Round 1 and 2 on Sunday and Monday, play for Round 3 begin on Tuesday. All but two groups were on the course when the horn sounded yesterday to halt play due to heavy rains and thunderstorms.
Joy, who teed off a 2:12 p.m. on Tuesday, finished his first hole of play with a par, scrambling following an errant drive off the No. 1 tee (par 4, 384 yards).
When play resumed on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. under a heavy morning mist in the skies, Joy was in the middle of his second hole. During the remainder of the day, Joy and the 75-man field played through on-and-off again showers during the rest of the round.
Following bogeys on No. 3 (par 5, 603 yards) and No. 5 (par 4, 382 yards), Joy got one shot back with a nice birdie at the par-3, No. 7 hole (184 yards).
However, he dropped a combined three shots on No. 9 (par 4, 411 yards) and No. 10 (par 4, 506 yards) to fall to 4-over par for the day.
Joy righted the ship during the rest of the back nine, closing his final eight holes of the season with three birdies to move back into the top 50 of the leaderboard.
This was Joy's second career NCAA Regional appearance. Last year, Joy finished tied for 47th place at the NCAA Stanford Regional with a 4-over par 214 (72-71-71).
The redshirt junior had a banner season in 2024-25. He led the Flames with a 71.26 season stroke average, lowering his career stroke average to 72.56.
The native of Denver, N.C., played 15-of-27 rounds at par or better this year (55.6 percent) and posted eight sub-70 rounds.
Joy was named to the All-CUSA first-team listing and was twice named CUSA Men's Golfer of the Week. He was also named to the CUSA Men's Golf All-Academic Team selection, the CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll and the CUSA Commissioner's Academic Medal listing.
Round Recap – Liberty's Participant at the NCAA Regional:
In the overall regional, No. 7 Oklahoma posted a winning score of 10-under par 830 (276-285-269), closing the NCAA Amherst Regional with an 11-under par 269 during the final round to vault to the top of the leaderboard.
No. 43 Wake Forest also made a final round charge thanks to a closing round 15-under par 265 to climb into the top five of the team standings.
The five advancing teams to the NCAA Men's Golf National Championship from the NCAA Amherst Regional were No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 18 Vanderbilt, No. 30 Tennessee, No. 43 Wake Forest and No. 19 Pepperdine.
Outside of the top five teams, Texas State's Sakke Siltala will advance to the national championship held at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., May 23-28.
Siltala closed the event with back-to-back rounds of 3-under par 67 to claim the top individual honor from a non-advancing team. Overall, he finished in second place with a 5-under par 205 (71-67-67).
Vanderbilt's Jackson Van Paris claimed NCAA Regional medalist honors with a winning score of 8-under par 202 (67-67-68).
Joy finished the NCAA Amherst Regional in a tie for 46th place, posting an 8-over par 218 (75-72-21) at the Poplar Grove Golf Club (par 70, 7,217 yards) in Amherst, Va.
Liberty University served as the host for the NCAA Regional event and was one of the six Regional host sites which determined the field at this year's NCAA Men's Golf National Championship.
The NCAA Amherst Regional was plagued by challenging weather issues and Wednesday's final round was no different.
After completing Round 1 and 2 on Sunday and Monday, play for Round 3 begin on Tuesday. All but two groups were on the course when the horn sounded yesterday to halt play due to heavy rains and thunderstorms.
Joy, who teed off a 2:12 p.m. on Tuesday, finished his first hole of play with a par, scrambling following an errant drive off the No. 1 tee (par 4, 384 yards).
When play resumed on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. under a heavy morning mist in the skies, Joy was in the middle of his second hole. During the remainder of the day, Joy and the 75-man field played through on-and-off again showers during the rest of the round.
Following bogeys on No. 3 (par 5, 603 yards) and No. 5 (par 4, 382 yards), Joy got one shot back with a nice birdie at the par-3, No. 7 hole (184 yards).
However, he dropped a combined three shots on No. 9 (par 4, 411 yards) and No. 10 (par 4, 506 yards) to fall to 4-over par for the day.
Joy righted the ship during the rest of the back nine, closing his final eight holes of the season with three birdies to move back into the top 50 of the leaderboard.
This was Joy's second career NCAA Regional appearance. Last year, Joy finished tied for 47th place at the NCAA Stanford Regional with a 4-over par 214 (72-71-71).
The redshirt junior had a banner season in 2024-25. He led the Flames with a 71.26 season stroke average, lowering his career stroke average to 72.56.
The native of Denver, N.C., played 15-of-27 rounds at par or better this year (55.6 percent) and posted eight sub-70 rounds.
Joy was named to the All-CUSA first-team listing and was twice named CUSA Men's Golfer of the Week. He was also named to the CUSA Men's Golf All-Academic Team selection, the CUSA Commissioner's Honor Roll and the CUSA Commissioner's Academic Medal listing.
Round Recap – Liberty's Participant at the NCAA Regional:
- Ike Joy – T46 8-over par 218 (75-72-71)
In the overall regional, No. 7 Oklahoma posted a winning score of 10-under par 830 (276-285-269), closing the NCAA Amherst Regional with an 11-under par 269 during the final round to vault to the top of the leaderboard.
No. 43 Wake Forest also made a final round charge thanks to a closing round 15-under par 265 to climb into the top five of the team standings.
The five advancing teams to the NCAA Men's Golf National Championship from the NCAA Amherst Regional were No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 18 Vanderbilt, No. 30 Tennessee, No. 43 Wake Forest and No. 19 Pepperdine.
Outside of the top five teams, Texas State's Sakke Siltala will advance to the national championship held at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., May 23-28.
Siltala closed the event with back-to-back rounds of 3-under par 67 to claim the top individual honor from a non-advancing team. Overall, he finished in second place with a 5-under par 205 (71-67-67).
Vanderbilt's Jackson Van Paris claimed NCAA Regional medalist honors with a winning score of 8-under par 202 (67-67-68).
Players Mentioned
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