May 8, 2006
CLEVELAND - Cleveland State won't have to travel far to make its first-ever NCAA appearance in men's golf. On Monday, the Vikings were tabbed as the No. 24 seed in the NCAA Division I Central Regional, which will take place from May 17-20 at Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon, Ohio.
"It was awesome to hear our named called and to be playing at home," CSU head coach Tom Porten said. "It truly is a star-studded field with some of the top teams and players in the country. We are honored and excited to be a part of this event. We will also have a nice comfort level playing with Eastern Kentucky, who we've already seen a couple of times this year."
The Vikings earned the Horizon League's automatic NCAA bid by virtue of their five-stroke victory at the league championship on May 1-2. CSU, which is also serving as the host school for the event, will be joined at Sand Ridge by 26 other schools and six individuals for a total of 141 golfers.
Named the 52nd best golf course in America by Golf Digest in 2005, the Tom Fazio-designed Sand Ridge will play as a 7,173 yard, par 71 (35-36), with the sixth hole being converted from a par 5 to a 485 yard par 4.
The East Regional will take place at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando, Fla., while the West Regional will be held at Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. The top 10 teams and three individuals (not on those 10 teams) from each regional will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will be contested May 31 through June 3 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.
The Vikings previously won the Horizon League Championship in 1998, but the league did not receive an automatic bid at the time. The last Cleveland State team to compete in an NCAA Championship was the softball squad in 1997.
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
NCAA Division I Men's Golf Central Regional Field
Teams (listed by seed)
1. Oklahoma State
2. Georgia Tech (Atlantic Coast)
3. Texas A & M
4. Clemson
5. Duke
6. Texas
7. Kentucky
8. Tulsa
9. Northwestern (Big Ten)
10. Minnesota
11. Lamar (Southland)
12. Kent State (MAC)
13. Oklahoma (Big 12)
14. TCU
15. Purdue
16. SMU (Conference USA)
17. Xavier
18. Texas-Arlington
19. Colorado
20. Missouri
21. Nebraska
22. Kansas State
23. Eastern Kentucky (Ohio Valley)
24. Cleveland State (Horizon League)
25. Siena (Metro Atlantic Athletic)
26. Princeton (Ivy Group)
27. St. Francis (Pa.) (Northeast)
Conference champions listed in parenthesis.
Individuals (listed by seed)
1. Matt Bortis, Arkansas
2. Kane Hanson, Drake
3. Gary Woodland, Kansas
4. Korey Mahoney, Eastern Michigan
5. Patrick Nagle, Illinois
6. Ryan Brehm, Michigan State
Schedule of Events
Wednesday, May 17
Practice Round
(Tee times begin at 8:00 a.m.)
Thursday, May 18
First Round
(Tee times begin at 7:00 a.m.)
Friday, May 19
Second Round
(Tee times begin at 7:00 a.m.)
Saturday, May 20
Third Round
(Tee times begin at 7:00 a.m.)
All four days are open to the public and free of charge.
