May 10, 2010
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt men’s golf team has been selected to compete in the 2010 NCAA Regional Championships and will travel to New Haven, Conn., next week to be a part of the 14-team field at the Course at Yale.
Making their third postseason appearance in four years, Head Coach Tom Shaw’s Commodores were given the No. 10 seed in the eastern-most region. They will be joined in Connecticut by two other Southeastern Conference schools in No. 3 seed South Carolina and No. 5 Alabama.
UCLA earned the region’s top seed, followed by Texas, South Carolina and Virginia. After Alabama at No. 5, seeds six through nine went to East Tennessee State, Southeastern Louisiana, Charlotte and Kent State. Vanderbilt’s pick at No. 10 was followed by Penn State, UNC-Wilmington, Columbia and Lafayette.
“We’re done with exams and ready to play some golf,” Shaw said. “We’ve seen a few of these teams this year and played well against them, so our team should be very confident next week.”
Only the top five teams and two individuals not on those teams will advance through the three-day, 54-hole event to the NCAA National Championship, June 1-6, at the Honors Course in Chattanooga.
Vanderbilt last made the national tournament in 2007 after advancing through a regional in Tempe, Arizona. The Commodores came in fifth that year in a 27-team regional that advanced 10 teams. Now, six regionals consist of 13 or 14 schools each.
Vanderbilt posted a head-to-head record of 83-59-1 this season including a team championship at the 2010 Samford Intercollegiate. The Commodores were paced by All-SEC honoree Hudson Johnson and his 71.86 stroke average.
The Course at Yale, opened for play in 1926, was designed under the supervision of Charles Blair Macdonald, the renowned golf course architect, champion golfer and co-founder of the USGA. The 6,749-yard, par-70 layout is one of the finest examples of early American course design. Large, deeply bunkered greens and narrow rolling fairways are the core of Yale’s penalizing character. Two of the holes – the 432-yard par-4 fourth and the 238-yard par 3 ninth – have been ranked among the world’s 100 most difficult holes.
“I played the NCAA East Regional there in my senior year (1991) at Georgia Tech,” Shaw said. “It’s an old-style golf course and they didn’t move a lot of land to build it. It’s a very historic place. It’s the kind of place you either love or hate, and I love it. I think our guys will love it, too.”
Individuals from Liberty (2), Iowa State, East Carolina and Pennsylania will round out the field of 75 golfers in New Haven.
A total of 81 teams will be teeing off next Thursday for their chance to get to Chattanooga. The other five regionals will be competed at sites around the country: Capital City Club in Alpharetta, Georgia; The Warren Golf Course in Notre Dame, Indiana; Carlton Oaks Golf Course in San Diego, California; Traditions Club in College Station, Texas; and Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington
1. UCLA
2. Texas
3. South Carolina
4. Virginia
5. Alabama
6. ETSU
7. SE-LA
8. Charlotte
9. Kent State
10. Vanderbilt
11. Penn State
12. UNC-Wilmington
13. Columbia
14. Lafayette
