Franks Finishes T-18th at NCAA Championship

CARLSBAD, Calif. – Senior All-American Nathan Franks finished T-18^th at the NCAA Championship on Monday at Omni La Costa. He carded an even par score of 72 in his final round in Garnet and Black.

The Roebuck, S.C. native is the eighth Gamecock all-time to record a top-20 finish at the NCAA Championship and the first since former All-American Will Starke finished T-13^th at Eugene Country Club in 2016.

Franks got off to a hot start today with a pair of birdies on his opening holes at the par-5 10^th and the par-4 11^th. He dropped to 2-over after a double bogey at the difficult par-3 third hole but rallied late with birdies at holes five and seven. He just missed a birdie putt on hole eight that would have catapulted him into the top-15 and automatic All-America status. He made a great par save at the par-4 ninth hole, sinking a 15-footer in his final roll of the flatstick as a Gamecock.

Franks fired scores of 71-72-73-72 this week at NCAA Finals for a 72-hole total of 288 (E). It is tied for the seventh lowest 72-hole score in program history with Mark Catalano (shot 288 at the 1998 NCAA Championship).

The performance this week helped Franks move up to No. 21 in the final PGA TOUR University Rankings. He’s the first Gamecock to finish in the top-25 of the PGA TOUR U rankings since former All-American Ryan Hall finished No. 11 in 2022.

The four-year starter finishes his career with a 71.59 scoring average, No. 3 all-time at South Carolina behind only Hall (70.66) and former All-American Scott Stevens (71.57).

The Gamecocks were one of 10 SEC schools to make the NCAA Championship. Seven SEC programs made the top-15 cut with five teams making it into the top-eight for match play on Tuesday. Franks was one of 11 players from the top conference in college golf to finish in the top-20 on the individual leaderboard at the National Championship.

2025 NCAA Championship Final Stroke Play Leaderboard  

1. No. 5 Arizona State – 1,138 (-14)

2. No. 1 Auburn – 1,140 (-12)

3. No. 7 Florida – 1,143 (-9)

4. No. 2 Oklahoma State – 1,151 (-1)

5. No. 6 Oklahoma – 1,152 (E)

6. No. 4 Texas – 1,1157 (+5)

7. No. 10 Virginia – 1,161 (+9)

8. No. 3 Ole Miss – 1,163 (+11)

–top-eight teams advanced to match play–

9. No. 9 Florida State – 1,164 (+12)

10. No. 24 Texas Tech – 1,166 (+14)

11. No. 11 Texas A&M – 1,168 (+16)

12. No. 21 Pepperdine – 1,169 (+17)

T13. No. 16 Vanderbilt – 1,170 (+18)

T13. No. 19 BYU – 1,170 (+18)

15. Wake Forest – 1,183 (+31)

–top-15 teams made cut & advanced to final round of stroke play–

16. Georgia Tech – 881 (+17)

17. Cal – 884 (+20)

18. No. 12 Illinois – 887 (+23)

19. No. 20 South Carolina – 890 (+26)

T20. No. 23 Tennessee – 894 (+30)

T20. No. 14 UCLA – 894 (+30)

22. No. 22 Georgia – 895 (+31)

T23. UNLV – 896 (+32)

T23. Colorado – 896 (+32)

25. USF – 897 (+33)

26. New Mexico – 900 (+36)

27. Purdue – 901 (+37)

28. Augusta – 903 (+39)

29. Troy – 906 (+42)

30. San Diego – 919 (+55)

2025 NCAA Championship Final Gamecock Stroke Play Leaderboard

T18. Nathan Franks – 288 (E)

MC. Brock Blais – 227 (+11)

MC. Zach Adams – 228 (+12)

MC. Frankie Harris – 229 (+13)

SUB-DNP. Marek Fleming – 150 (+6)

SUB-DNP Ismael Encinas – 80 (+8)

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