May 4, 2017
AUBURN, Ala. - The No. 19 Auburn men's golf team earned a No. 4 seed in the 13-team NCAA West Lafayette, Ind., Regional to be played at the Kampen Course May 15-17. Five of the nation's top 28 teams in the Golfstat rankings are in the field.
The top five teams and one individual not on those teams qualify for the 121st NCAA Men's Golf Championship at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill., May 26-31.
The West Lafayette Regional teams in order of seeding include No. 5 Florida, No. 8 Illinois, No. 17 UNLV, No. 19 Auburn, South Carolina, Colorado, host Purdue, New Mexico, Augusta, Saint Mary's, Campbell, Richmond and Cleveland State.
"We are excited," said Auburn eighth-year head coach Nick Clinard. "I've never been there, but have heard it's a great golf course. There is great competition with Florida, Illinois and Purdue as a No. 7 seed as host. At the end of the day, I tell our team to play well, and we will move on. We have to go in there with the right mindset.
"Our goals are to go in there to compete and win. We can't win a national championship unless we get there. We have been there five years in a row, and we want to keep the streak alive."
The Tigers are making their 26th overall NCAA Regional appearance in the last 28 years as eighth-year head coach Nick Clinard has led the Tigers to eight-straight NCAA Regionals while advancing to five-straight NCAA Championships.
Auburn is one of seven teams in the nation ... Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas and Southern California the others ... who have made at least five-straight NCAA Championship appearances.
This will be Auburn's second postseason tournament at the Kampen Course as the Tigers finished 16th in the 2008 NCAA Championship in West Lafayette.
Individuals in the regional are Peter Kim, Army; Mark Lawrence, Virginia Tech; Austin Squires, Cincinnati; Keegan de Lange, Louisville; Lloyd Jefferson Go, Seton Hall; David Kocher, Maryland; Sarit Suwannarut, Virginia Tech; Patrick Flavin, Miami, Ohio; Peyton White, Ohio; and Trent Wallace, Illinois State.
Twelve SEC teams qualified for the NCAA Regionals, including LSU, Arkansas and Kentucky at University Club in Baton Rouge, La.; Vanderbilt, Georgia and Missouri at The Grove in Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Auburn, Florida and South Carolina at Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind.; Ole Miss at the UT Golf Club in Austin, Texas; and Texas A&M and Alabama at Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash.
Auburn has four tournament wins this year at the Inverness Intercollegiate, Jerry Pate National, Tiger Invitational and the Gary Koch Invitational. Sophomore Trace Crowe won medalist honors at the Gary Koch, finishing the last two rounds with a pair of 66s.
For further information on the NCAA West Lafayette Regional, go to http://bit.ly/2pKnMm2