May 4, 2009
(San Diego, CA) - The USD men's golf team received great news today when they found out they landed a bid to compete in the 2009 NCAA West Men's Golf Regional. The event, being hosted by the University of San Francisco and the Lake Merced Golf Club, will begin on Thursday, May 14th and run through Saturday, May 16th. One of the top courses in California, Lake Merced Golf Club is rated in the top-50 nationally. A practice round will be held on Wednesday, May 13th, with a tournament luncheon open to media members being held following the practice round.
The USD Toreros will be making their third appearance at the NCAA Regional's in the past four years under 6th-year head coach Tim Mickelson.
"We are thrilled to be included in this year's NCAA postseason," said Coach Tim Mickelson. `It looked fairly grim after the WCC Championships (3rd place finish) that we would not be ranked high enough to earn an at-large bid, but we got a lot of help from other schools and were able to snag a berth into Regional's. We plan to capitalize on the opportunity. I couldn't be happier for my players, Cory (assistant coach), and the program. Everyone has worked really hard this semester on the golf course, in the classroom, and in the gym. It feels great to be rewarded for that hard work and we plan to capitalize on the opportunity and make a run for a spot into the National Championship. Earning this bid to the postseason is another step in the right direction for this program. This marks the 3rd time in 4 years that USD will be sending a team to the NCAA postseason, and marks the 4th year in a row that USD will be represented in the postseason as we took Darrin Hall as an individual to the West Regional in 2007. We are looking forward to the opportunity of proving we were worthy of this at-large spot."
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The Toreros, who turned in six top-5 performances this season, including the title at the Kauai Collegiate Invitational, will be the No. 12 seed among the thirteen competing teams. The Toreros are led by USD freshman Alex Ching (Honolulu, HI), the 2009 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, and senior Blake Trimble (Rancho Santa Fe, CA). Ching, who played in a team-best 34 rounds this season, finishing with a team-best 71.73 stroke average. At the recently completed WCC Championships, he finished tied for 15th overall at 217. On the year he placed in the top-10 on four different occasions, including a first place finish at the Bay Area Shootout. Trimble, who placed third at the WCC Championships, joined Ching on the All-WCC First Team. Trimble turned in four top-10 performances this season. Graduate student Ian Coffman played some of his best golf down the stretch and was an All-WCC honorable mention pick after he placed 8th at the league championships. Additionally, sophomores Gunner Wiebe and Jason Shano both played key roles in the team's spring success.
WEST REGIONAL SEEDING: 1- Southern California, 2- Texas A&M, 3- Arizona State, 4- San Diego State, 5- UC Davis, 6- Oregon, 7- New Mexico, 8- Colorado, 9- UC Irvine, 10- Kansas State, 11- Oregon State, 12- San Diego, 13- San Francisco.Selected Individuals: Grant Doverspike, Fresno State; Brady Johnson, Brigham Young; Nick Delio, Cal State Northridge; Scott Smith, Nevada; Geoff Gonzalez, Cal Poly; Robbie Fillmore, Brigham Young;Mark Hubbard, San Jose State; Kevin Tucker, Washington State; Bhavik Patel, Fresno State; Greg Moss, Loyola Marymount.
ABOUT LAKE MERCED GOLF CLUB: The host site of the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Regional, the Lake Merced Golf Club owns a storied history. Originally designed by Willie Lock in 1922, Lake Merced Golf Club was redesigned in 1929 under the guidance of fabled architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie. When Interstate 280 was constructed in the early 1960's, the Club utilized vacant land acquired in the 1920's and retained Robert Muir Graves to reroute the course as necessary to create the basis of today's championship layout. The golf course underwent a major renovation in 1996 under the direction of Rees Jones, known the world over for his brilliant restoration of legendary championship venues. Lake Merced has hosted numerous Collegiate, NCGA and USGA events, including the 1990 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship (Tiger Woods's debut in USGA competition). Lake Merced regularly hosts sectional qualifying for both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women's Open.
LAKE MERCED COURSE DETAILS: The 18-hole "Lake Merced" course features 6,863 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 74.4 and it has a slope rating of 138.
Lake Merced Official Website: lmgc.org
MEDIA AVAILABILITY: Media interested in covering the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf West Regional should contact Ryan McCrary in the USF Media Relations office at mccrary@usfca.edu. Media interested in covering the tournament luncheon Wednesday May 15 should also contact Ryan McCrary by Monday, May 13.
2009 NCAA MEN'S GOLF REGIONAL SITES: Lake Merced Golf Club - Daly City, California; The Club at Olde Stone -Bowling Green, Kentucky; Galloway National Golf Club - Galloway, New Jersey; Red Tail Golf Club - Sorrento, Florida; University of Texas Golf Club - Austin, Texas; and Karsten Creek Golf Club - Stillwater, Oklahoma.
NCAA MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT: Three regionals will have fields of 13 teams and 10 individuals, with the other three consisting of 14 teams and five individuals each for a total of 75 players at each site. The top five teams and the top individual not on an advancing team will qualify from each regional site for the NCAA Division I Men's Championship at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. NCAA Nationals run May 26-30, 2009.
The finals also will have a new format, with the final eight teams after 54 holes facing off in match play to determine the national champion. The individual winner will be crowned after 54 holes instead of 72 as in past years.
NCAA Official Website: NCAASports.com
