GREENSBORO, NC – When the UNCG Bridgestone Golf Collegiate’s 2008 field is set to tee it up at Forest Oaks Country Club in late October, it will go down as the strongest field the tournament has seen to date.
Nine of the 15 teams in the field for the tournament have just completed play in the NCAA Regional Tournament, two of which advanced to the national championship. Louisville, Mississippi State, Duke, Chattanooga, Michigan State, Memphis, Michigan, LSU and Pepperdine all advanced to the national tournament. Louisville, which was seeded tenth in the Central Regional, finished tenth in the national championship in West Lafayette, IN last week. Mississippi State, which was seeded 13th at the East Regional, made it to the national championship as well, but did not make the final round cut.
UNCG, Maryland, Minnesota, Notre Dame, South Alabama and Toledo will round the field for the tournament, which will be held October 26-28. Four of those teams had individuals in NCAA Tournament play.
The other NCAA team qualifiers in the field: Duke was seeded fourth at the East Regional; Chattanooga, winners of the Southern Conference, was seeded fifth in the East; Michigan State, winners of the Big 10, was seeded eighth in the East; Memphis was seeded 21st in the East; Michigan was seeded 15th in the Central Regional; LSU was seeded 13th in the West Regional; and Pepperdine was seeded 15th in the West Regional.
“We’ve wanted this tournament to showcase some of the best there is in college golf since its inception,” said UNCG coach Terrance Stewart. “This is certainly our most impressive field. Thanks to Bridgestone Golf for their continued support – without them, we wouldn’t be able to put together as great a field as we will have next October. We are happy to welcome them all to the Triad and Forest Oaks Country Club.”
Last year, Louisville won the title behind Derek Fauther’s 54-hole tournament record of 206, leading the Cardinals to a three-shot win over Mississippi State. A total of eight teams from last year’s 15-team field return for the 2008 edition.
Complete tournament information and history are available at www.uncggolfcollegiate.com.
- UNCG -