• 2023-24 National Ranking: #2
  • 23 NCAA Championship Appearances
  • 21 UAA Championships
  • 10 NCAA Championships Top 10 Finishes
  • 20 All-Americans
  • 30 All-America Scholars

2022-23 Men’s Golf Season Recap

2022-23 Men’s Golf Season Recap

The Emory University men's golf program completed another successful season come with an 11th place finish at the NCAA Tournament and a second place finish at the UAA Championships.

The Eagles spent a good amount of the year as the No. 1 ranked team in the country under the leadership of Head Coach John Sjoberg and received a number of accomplishments for both the team and individuals.

Emory came into the season as the second ranked team in the nation and opened play at the Gate City Invitational in September. The Eagles finished third out of 17 schools with a combined score of 858 (286-287-285) which is tied for the tenth best mark in program history. The team would then go on to compete in the NCAA DIII Preview and notched a sixth place finish with a three-round total of 902 (299-306-297).

For the rest of the fall, the team continued a hot streak starting with a first place finish at the Piedmont Invitational with a team total of 607. Sophomore Nicholas Nautiyal scored a personal-low 67 on day two to end the tournament. The following weekend, the Eagles competed at the Golfweek DIII Invitational taking another first place finish after being in third place after day one. Emory finished the weekend with a three round score of 859 (285-283-291). The team came back to Georgia to compete in the Chick-fil-A Invitational taking second place with a total score of 587 (292-295). Sophomore Prayaag Oruganti finished with the best tournament of his young career earning the Eagles their first individual tournament win of the season. His two-round score of 139 (70-69) is tied for the sixth best two-round score in program history. Emory rounded out the fall season with a fifth place finish at the O'Briant/Jensen Collegiate.

The Eagles used their momentum from the fall to fuel the spring season starting with a come from behind victory at the Savannah Invitational recording a three round score of 880 (294-290-296). Sophomore Michael Burry recorded his first individual tournament win of his career after finishing the tournament with the best score in the field on par-4 holes shooting -5. Moving to the UAA Championships, the Eagles pulled out a big victory in the first round against NYU with each individual winning their match. The next day, the team dropped a heartbreaker to Carnegie Mellon 3-2 to finish as the runner-up at the UAA Tournament. Emory went undefeated in the month of April ending in a tie for first at the Shoals Intercollegiate and taking first at the Emory Spring Invitational.

The four-day NCAA Championships was a roller coaster as the Eagles were as high as seventh and as low as 13th in the standings but ultimately finished out their season in 11th marking the third straight year the Eagles have made the final cut after finishing in sixth and fifth place the previous two years.

Burry was the breakout star for the Eagles this season in just his second year with the program. He finished the season with an average of 72.8 strokes per round over 27 rounds of action in nine events. He finished in the top-10 individually three times this season and in the top-20 three times. He shot a low-round score of 67 at the Golfweek DIII Invitational to shoot -1 for the tournament. He finished in a tie for sixth at the O'Briant Jensen Collegiate Memorial after shooting a 141 (72-69) and a tie for seventh at the NCAA DIII Fall Preview shooting a 221 (70-78-73).

Junior Jackson Klutznick also played a major role in his second year with the program competing in 24 rounds over eight events for the Eagles. He averaged an impressive 73.3 strokes per round and posted a low-round score of 68 at the Jekyll Island Collegiate Tournament to shoot -6 and finish in a tie for third place with teammate Tony Li. He opened the season with a 215 (72-72-71) at the Gate City Invitational to finish in a tie for 16th and placed in a tie for third at the Shoals Intercollegiate after shooting a 213 (72-69-72) at the tournament.

Li continued his impressive career with the Eagles in his second season finishing just behind Klutznick with an average of 73.7 strokes per round. He posted a low-round score of 68 at the Jekyll Island Collegiate Tournament to finish in a tie for third and came close to another score of 68 at the NCAA DIII Championships. He finished a stroke back (73-70-71) from Klutznick at the Shoals Invitational to finish in a tie for fifth place.

The Eagles earned an abundance of honors this season from both the conference and national organizations. Three athletes were named to the All-UAA First Team including Burry, Klutznick and Li with Burry also earning UAA Player of the Year honors. Freshman Brian Hanson took home All-UAA Second Team honors and Sjoberg garnered Coach of the Year honors. Burry and Klutznick were both named to the PING All-America First Team as well as the GCAA All-Region team along with Li and Hanson. Sjoberg was also recognized as a finalist for the Dave Williams National Coach of the Year award.

The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2022-23 season:

PING All-America

Michael Burry

First Team

Saratoga, CA (Saratoga)

Jackson Klutznick

First Team

Denver, CO (Kent Denver)

Tony Li

Third Team

Vancouver, BC (St. George's)

Brian Hanson

Honorable Mention

San Diego, CA (Cathedral Catholic)

 

GCAA All-Region

Michael Burry

Saratoga, CA (Saratoga)

Jackson Klutznick

Denver, CO (Kent Denver)

Tony Li

Vancouver, BC (St. George's)

Brian Hanson

San Diego, CA (Cathedral Catholic)

 

University Athletic Association Player of the Year

Michael Burry

Saratoga, CA (Saratoga)

 

University Athletic Association Coaching Staff of the Year

John Sjoberg

Keenan Hickton

 

All-University Athletic Association

Michael Burry

First Team

Saratoga, CA (Saratoga)

Jackson Klutznick

First Team

Denver, CO (Kent Denver)

Tony Li

First Team

Vancouver, BC (St. George's)

Brian Hanson

Second Team

San Diego, CA (Cathedral Catholic)

 

UAA Athlete of the Week

Nicholas Nautiyal

Portland, OR (Oregon Episcopal)

Oct. 17

Michael Burry

Saratoga, CA (Saratoga)

Oct. 3, Oct. 24, Nov. 7, Mar. 20

Prayaag Oruganti

Austin, TX (Vandegrift)

Oct. 31

Jackson Klutznick

Denver, CO (Kent Denver)

Apr. 24