Bradley named American Men’s Golf Coach of the Year, Bergstrom and Gifford named All-Conference
Steve Bradley earns AAC Coach of the Year honors for the fifth time.
IRVING, Texas (May 4, 2021) – After guiding the USF Bulls to their fifth American Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship in the past six seasons, head coach Steve Bradley has been unanimously selected as the AAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time on his career, the league announced on Tuesday.
Sophomores Albin Bergstrom (Falsterbo, Sweden) and Luke Gifford (Boca Raton) were both unanimous selections to the American Men’s Golf All-Conference Team. Bergstrom lands on the All-AAC Team for the second time while the 2021 selection marks the first in Gifford’s career. USF now has 16 all-conference selections in eight seasons in The American.
Bergstrom, the 2019 AAC Freshman of the Year, became the fourth player in program history to win medalist honors at the American Men’s Golf Championship in late April. He entered the final day of the tournament three shots off the lead, and finished with a three-stroke victory after shooting 6-under-par 66 in the final round, including draining a 50-foot birdie putt from off the green on the final hole.
Bergstrom has been the catalyst for the Bulls’ success all season, leading the team with a 70.25 scoring average – the second-lowest of his three-year career. He has carded rounds of par or better 18 times, and placed in the top 25 in seven of USF’s eight outings this spring, including three top-10 performances.
Gifford also played a huge role in USF’s successful effort to capture its fifth American Championship this year. He carded a season-low score of 66 (-6) in the opening round of the AAC Championship which helped stake the Bulls to a 15-stroke lead while the team set a new conference tournament record with a score of 18-under-par 270 in the first round. Gifford rebounded from a tough round on Saturday to shoot 69 in the final round and finish tied for eighth.
Gifford is second on the team this season in scoring average (71.50) and has shot 16 rounds of par or better. He has finished in the top 25 three times this spring, and earned his best finish of the year at the AAC Championship, tying for eighth.
The USF men’s golf program has won 17 conference titles – five in The American under Bradley (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021) – and has competed in the NCAA Championships in each of the last seven seasons (every year it has been held since 2013, 2020 was cancelled due to COVID-19), including reaching the match-play finals and finishing sixth in the nation in 2015 in Bradley’s second season as head coach. Bradley’s teams hold the top-five season win totals in program history, including twice winning five tournaments in a season (2014-15 & 2017-18). The Bulls have won 20 tournaments in Bradley’s seven seasons leading the program.
Up Next
By winning the 2021 American Conference Championship, the Bulls have earned an automatic bid to their eighth straight NCAA Regional. USF will find out its regional destination on Wednesday, May 5 at 2 p.m. when the complete championship field is announced.
About USF Men’s Golf
USF men’s golf program has captured 17 conference titles and seen players earn 18 All-America honors. The Bulls have won five American Athletic Conference Championship titles, including five of the last six and four straight from 2015-18, have four individual AAC champions. USF has earned seven straight trips to NCAA Regional (every year since 2013) and reached the NCAA match play finals (finishing sixth) in 2015. The program is led by Steve Bradley, who has been named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year five times since taking over the program in 2014. The Bulls have posted 20 tournament wins under Bradley, by far the most under any coach in program history.
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