Masters exemption on the line at 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Dylan Menante has played some special golf this week.

The senior at North Carolina had eight birdies in the first round but also had six bogeys. In Saturday’s second round, he was 4 under after 11 holes and tripled the 12th and finished at even.

Sunday was his best round yet at Grayhawk Golf Club at the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. Menante shot 3-under 67 and moved into solo second at 5-under 205, four shots behind Georgia Tech’s Ross Steelman with 18 holes to play.

He was also thinking of azaleas.

Menante isn’t afraid to admit he has thought plenty about the new exemption into the 2024 Masters the winner gets this week. Last month, Augusta National announced the champion of the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship would begin receiving an exemption into the Masters. And it has players dreaming big in the desert.

“Coming down the last couple holes I was thinking about it today even,” Menante said. “It’s definitely something to factor, and it’s just an unbelievable opportunity.”

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NCAA Leaderboard: Team | Individual | Photos

Vanderbilt sophomore Gordon Sargent, the winner of the 2022 NCAA individual title, played 2023 Masters via a rare special invitation, the first in more than 20 years.

The inclusion of the college champion into the Masters field added further legitimacy to the NCAA Championship.

“And as it relates to the NCAA champion, as I stated, that is a major amateur championship, and I thought it was time that we acknowledged it,” Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley said last month.

That means come Monday afternoon in the desert, the winning player will have won a lot more than an NCAA title. He will have earned one of the most special invitations in sports.

“Obviously, in everybody’s mind, it’s a pretty special opportunity,” said Florida’s Fred Biondi, who is 4 under and T-3. “It’s definitely something in the background.”

Biondi said it’s not on his mind much during the round, but he admits he and his teammates have spoken with coaches about it. Menante agreed, saying after Sargent got the exemption this year, he and others were hoping it would become a regular thing.

Could be decision time, for some

However, one of the stipulations is a player must remain an amateur to earn the exemption. For Menante, that’s not as big of an issue since he is returning to North Carolina. But for Biondi and Steelman,…