May 8, 2006

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern's Big Ten champion men's golf team knew it was headed to the NCAA Championships after clinching an automatic berth on April 30 with its victory at the Big Ten Championships.

On Monday the Wildcats received their official invitation and learned they will stay in their region and head to the Sand Ridge Golf Club just outside Cleveland for the 27-team regional, which takes place May 18-20. Cleveland State University is serving as the host of the event.

The other two regions -- East and West -- are being conducted, respectively, in Orlando, Fla., and Tucson, Ariz. The top 10 teams will advance to the National Championships, along with the top two individuals not on advancing teams.

This year's championships will be conducted May 31 through June 3 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. The University of Portland is the host institution for this year's championships.

The Wildcats, rated 28th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin index, earned the No. 9 seed in the Central Regional, which includes two other Big Ten teams, Minnesota (No. 10 seed) and Purdue (No. 15 seed). Oklahoma State, which has held down the No. 2 national ranking much of the year, is the top seed in the Central, followed by ACC champion Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Clemson and Duke.

Northwestern, which is seeking its 23rd all-time trip to the national championships, is returning to postseason after a two-year hiatus.

Listed below are the teams and individuals selected to participate in the championships. Teams winning automatic qualification are designated by their conferences in parentheses.

EAST REGIONAL -- May 18-20
Lake Nona Golf • Orlando, Florida
Hosted by the University of Central Florida and the Central Florida Sports Commission

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Georgia (Southeastern)
2. UCLA (Pacific-10)
3. UNLV
4. Georgia State (Colonial)
5. North Carolina
6. Southern California
7. Texas Tech
8. Wake Forest
9. Charlotte (Atlantic 10)
10. Coastal Carolina (Big South)
11. Auburn
12. Tennessee
13. South Carolina
14. Florida State
15. Indiana
16. Notre Dame (Big East)
17. Georgia Southern (Southern)
18. Maryland
19. Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)
20. Western Illinois (Mid-Continent)
21. Wichita State (Missouri Valley)
22. Rhode Island
23. George Washington
24. Richmond
25. Liberty
26. Army
27. Binghamton

Individuals:
1. Luke List, Vanderbilt
2. Daniel Willett, Jacksonville State
3. Matt Cook, Western Carolina
4. Garrett Osborne, Alabama-Birmingham
5. Shawn Hall, Charleston Southern
6. Scott Stallings, Tennessee Tech

CENTRAL REGIONAL -- May 18-20
Sand Ridge Golf Club • Chardon, Ohio
Hosted by Cleveland State University

Teams (seeded in the following order):
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. Southern Methodist (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 (Pennsylvania) (Northeast)

Individuals:
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

WEST REGIONAL -- May 18-20
Tucson National Golf Club • Tucson, Arizona
Hosted by the University of Arizona

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Florida
2. Arizona State
3. BYU
4. East Tennessee State
5. Baylor
6. Alabama
7. Arizona
8. San Diego State
9. North Carolina State
10. Washington
11. New Mexico (Mountain West)
12. Stanford
13. Houston
14. Pepperdine
15. Louisville
16. Denver
17. Santa Clara
18. New Mexico State (Western Athletic)
19. Fresno State
20. UC Irvine
21. Nevada
22. San Diego
23. Cal Poly (Big West)
24. Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)
25. Loyola Marymount (West Coast)
26. Jackson State (Southwestern Athletic)
27. Bucknell (Patriot League)

Individuals:
1. Graham Delaet, Boise State
2. Dustin Pimm, Utah
3. Chadd Cocco, St. Mary's (Calif.)
4. Ryan Witz, Washington State
5. Ryan Wood, Long Beach State
6. Derek Whiting, Colorado State

Pat Goss on Twitter

The Team

Golf Polls and News

Top 100 Teacher Pat Goss Instructional Videos

Golf Facilities

Windon Memorial Classic