A Barstool championship for women’s golf? For Dave Portnoy and the team at Barstool Sports, the idea seemed like a no-brainer after what happened in Baton Rouge on Wednesday.
“I don’t want to see them end their careers like that,” Barstool’s Sam Riggs Bozoian told Golfweek.
Bozoian, shocked by the NCAA’s controversial cancellation of the Baton Rouge regional without a single shot being played, wanted to give the 12 teams that didn’t advance a chance to compete.
The top six seeds in Baton Rouge automatically advanced to the NCAA Championship May 21-26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, after officials deemed the course playable, but not to a “championship level” due to excessive rain.
“I couldn’t believe the way that they handled it,” said Bozoian, who delivered his invitation to teams via Twitter in a staircase video that looked strikingly similar to one in Baton Rouge that went viral.
Announcement. Inviting the following women’s golf teams to AZ next week:
Oregon St, Houston, Miami FL, North Texas, Purdue, Mississippi State, Tulsa, Sam Houston State, Kennesaw State, East Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, Quinnipiac.
& several individuals #LetThemPlay pic.twitter.com/X8zywqIBNU
— Riggs (@RiggsBarstool) May 13, 2021
Bozoian plans to host a pre-championship of sorts May 20-21 in Arizona. The goal is to play 36 holes each day to crown a team and individual champion. The following teams have been invited: Oregon State, Houston, Miami, North Texas, Purdue, Mississippi State, Tulsa, Sam Houston State, Kennesaw State, East Tennessee State, Jacksonville State and Quinnipiac.
Purdue coach Devon Brouse said if Barstool pulls it off and it’s NCAA-approved, he’d have his Boilermakers there in a heartbeat.
“It’s like the NIT, it sounds like to me,” said Brouse.
Riggs, who moved to Arizona in November and plays a lot of golf at Grayhawk, said he’s talking to area courses and looking into what’s possible in terms of providing airfare and accommodations.
“We’re flying by the seat of our pants to see what’s allowed to be taken care of,” he said.
Barstool already has an events team in place that hosts dozens of Barstool Classic tournaments around the country.
“It’s only been a few hours,” he said, “but I think we’ve made some traction. The Thunderbirds are helping us out.”
