Three Frenchmen help UMKC golf team make NCAA tournament

There aren’t a lot of options for players wanting to play golf in college in France, but three Frenchmen are making the most of their opportunity to play in the United States.

Antoine Rozner, Francois Lagraulet and Thibault Vieilledent are enjoying success with the UMKC men’s golf team.

They helped the Kangaroos win the Western Athletic Conference championship and earn a spot in an NCAA regional tournament Monday through Wednesday at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

If they can finish among the top five teams in the regional, UMKC would qualify for the national tournament May 27-June 1 at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.

“It’s the goal of every golfer who plays in college to make the NCAA (national) tournament,” Vieilledent said. “I feel like we can do it. We have nothing to lose.”

Rozner, a senior from Paris, was the first of three Frenchmen to land at UMKC. He met UMKC coach J.W. VanDenBorn at an event in Florida and got an offer to play for UMKC.

“It was a tough adjustment,” Rozner said. “Obviously my English was not so good. This school is different. When I got here, I didn’t have any classes or know what to do. But there are so many people around here to help you out, it was great.”

Rozner has since been joined by Vieilledent, a junior from Cannes, and Lagraulet, a freshman from Bordeaux. They had become friends through junior golf in France before coming to Kansas City.

“I don’t miss home,” Vieilledent said. “I am super excited here. The beginning is never easy. It’s a different mindset. Everything is different here, but it was a really good challenge learning something completely different than what I grew up with.”

VanDenBorn said it took some time for him build a roster that he is comfortable with, but that has happened now.

“These guys have worked extremely hard to make that happen,” VanDenBorn said. “We have a lot of guys that we have built a lot of trust in. We can just put them out on the course and let them go. They don’t need a lot of direction. ... It’s nice to let them go and not worry if they will make the right decisions.”

Vieilledent said the team played well in the fall but struggled early in the spring before putting it together again late in the season.

UMKC is coming off a victory in the Western Athletic Conference tournament April 30-May 2 in Blaine, Wash. In addition to the team championship, Rozner was the individual champion with a three-round total of 12-under 204.

“It’s awesome,” Rozner said. “It was a goal from the very beginning of the year to win the conference. We all worked really hard for it. To be able to win it at the end of the season is a good feeling.”

In addition to Rozner, UMKC got several other solid performances in the WAC tournament. Lagraulet finished second, Jakob Garstecki tied for sixth and Vieilledent tied for ninth place.

Now the team hopes to extend its season with a strong showing in the regional. The top five teams and the top individual not on those squads advance to the NCAA national tournament.

“It’s one of the biggest tournaments in the world,” Lagraulet said. “To make it to nationals as a team would be awesome. It would be a great experience.”

VanDenBorn said his main job entering the regional is to help the players remain confident since they have built a game they are comfortable with.

“I certainly think we have a chance,” VanDenBorn said. “It will depend how we handle the moment. The regionals are probably harder than the national championship tournament since you are trying to make that last step.”

Rozner said the team will keep using the same strategy it used at the conference tournament, to excel each day.

“Our goal is to finish in the top five each day,” he said. “If we do that, we will be in good shape.”

Rozner, who will go to qualifying school this fall in hopes of making the Web.com pro tour, understands that the Karsten Creek course is difficult. But he knows it will be the same for everyone, and he believes the Kangaroos will be fine if they remain focused on their game and not worry about the opponents.

VanDenBorn said his players have bought into taking tournaments one day at a time and have executed the plan well.

“(Making nationals) would be great for the players, our program and the university,” VanDenBorn said. “We are excited about the opportunity.”

This story was originally published May 14, 2016 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Three Frenchmen help UMKC golf team make NCAA tournament."