IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa senior Mac McClear was selected on Wednesday to compete individually at NCAA Regionals. The Hawkeye veteran will compete at the Bear’s Best Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 15-17 for an opportunity to advance to the 2023 NCAA Championships.
Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted to determine the 30 qualifying teams and six individuals not on those qualifying teams who will compete in the finals. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams will advance to the finals.
The finals are May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
McClear enters regional play as the second-seeded individual. He is fresh off consecutive medalist finishes at the 2023 Hawkeye Invitational and the Big Ten Championships last weekend.
McClear became Iowa’s first two-time Big Ten Champion on Sunday, topping the field as co-medalist alongside Northwestern’s Daniel Svard at 139 (-3) through 36 holes at Galloway National Golf Club.
He also won the 2022 Iowa Fall Classic and entered the season with three previous medalist honors. That included a win at the 2021 Big Ten Championships, where McClear led the Hawkeyes to a second-place finish at Crooked Stick Golf Club.
Conference accolades are nothing new for McClear, who was the league’s only unanimous first team All-Big Ten member in 2021 and was an All-Big Ten Second Team honoree last season. McClear was named Co-Big Ten Golfer of the Week on April 19, 2023, the third weekly conference honor of his career. He is also a two-time PING All-Midwest Team selection.
McClear was an NCAA Regional qualifier in 2022, competing in Norman, Oklahoma, at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club alongside teammate Ronan Kleu. McClear fired a 214 (-2) total through 54 holes, placing 14th overall. He finished four strokes back of individual qualifier Evan Lewis of South Carolina.