NO. 17 UNLV MEN’S GOLF HEADED TO NCAA-RECORD 29TH STRAIGHT REGIONAL
Rebels earn No. 3 seed in Indiana, play begins May 15
The No. 17 UNLV men’s golf team will be the No. 3 seed at the NCAA’s West Lafayette Regional, which begins Monday, May 15, the NCAA announced Thursday. It will be hosted by Purdue at the Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Rebels found out their seed and where they would be playing during a Thursday morning Golf Channel Selection Show watch party at the Las Vegas Country Club.
The invitation marks UNLV’s 29th straight appearance in a NCAA Regional, which is the NCAA record for most consecutive appearances.
Six 54-hole regional tournaments will be conducted May 15-17. Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals, while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals to make up the 30 qualifying teams and six individuals not on those teams that will compete for the NCAA title.
The other five regional sites will be at University Club in Baton Rouge, La., The Grove in College Grove, Tenn., Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif., University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas and Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash.
The 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship finals will be conducted May 26-31 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. Northern Illinois is the host institution for the 2017 championships.
UNLV recently played at the Kampen Course in West Lafayette, as the Rebels closed out their regular season on April 16 at The Boilermaker, finishing fourth among 15 teams.
“We are very excited to be back in the NCAA Regionals,” UNLV head coach Dwaine Knight said. “West Lafayette is a place we will be very familiar with as we just played there a few weeks ago, and now have been to tournaments there a couple of times. It is very fortuitous for us to be sent there.
“The course is very tough and very long. We had a chance to contend for the title there this year, but didn’t finish the last holes as well as we could have. Those lessons should pay off for us as we go back there.”
Most recently, the Rebels won their second straight Mountain West title at the end of April. In all this year, the team captured two team titles, while recording a total of nine top-five finishes in 12 events.
“We have played well recently, which gives us some confidence going into the regional,” Knight added. “We have played pretty steady all year. We have had a lot of opportunities to win and I think we are headed in the right direction.
“Being a No. 3 seed is good because we will be grouped with top teams in Florida and Illinois – teams that are going to be playing for the national championship in a couple weeks. We will also have the best tee times and when they get rotated, we will stay with the best teams. I love when we are able to play with great teams.”
UNLV finished sixth at last year’s NCAA Regional in Tuscaloosa, Ala., just missing the national finals, while it advanced past the regional in 2015 after finishing third in Noblesville, Ind.
Listed below are the teams and individuals selected to participate in the 2017 West Lafayette Regional. Teams winning automatic qualification are designated by their conferences in parenthesis.
WEST LAFAYETTE REGIONAL – May 15-16
Kampen Course – West Lafayette, Ind.
Hosted by Purdue
Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Florida
2. Illinois (Big Ten)
3. UNLV (Mountain West)
4. Auburn
5. South Carolina
6. Colorado
7. Purdue
8. New Mexico
9. Augusta (Mid-Eastern)
10. Saint Mary’s
11. Campbell (Big South)
12. Richmond (Atlantic 10)
13. Cleveland State (Horizon)
Individuals:
1. Peter Kim, U.S. Military Academy
2. Mark Lawrence Jr., Virginia Tech
3. Austin Squires, Cincinnati
4. Keegan de Lange, Louisville
5. Lloyd Jefferson Go, Seton Hall
6. David Kocher, Maryland
7. Sarit Suwannarut, Virginia Tech
8. Patrick Flavin, Miami (Ohio)
9. Peyton White, Ohio
10. Trent Wallace, Illinois State
