STANFORD -- BYU's 12th-ranked men's golf team will compete in the NCAA West Regional May 19-21 at the par 70 (6,742) Stanford Golf course in Stanford, Calif.
The Cougars will be playing in their 15th consecutive NCAA West Regional. BYU has not missed an NCAA Regional invitation since the regional format began in 1991. During that span BYU has placed in the top 10 six times. The highest regional finish came in 2000 when the Cougars, led by All-American Andy Miller, finished second in Fresno, Calif.
A total of 27 teams and six individuals not on selected teams were assigned to each of the three regional sites. The top 10 teams and two individuals not on advancing teams will move on to the championship finals held on June 1-4 in Baltimore, Maryland. BYU enters the West Regional as the seventh seed behind No. 2 UNLV and No. 4 New Mexico. The field includes 10 teams ranked in the nation's top 25 making it arguably the toughest of the three regionals to advance from.
Facing its stiffest competition of the season, BYU will need solid play from all five of its players to advance according to Cougar head coach Bruce Brockbank.
"We don't have to play great, we just need to play smart," Brockbank said. "This is a tricky course and there are a lot of really good teams who would love to beat us out of the top 10."
Last year at the 2004 NCAA West Regional in Sunriver, Ore., BYU finished in fifth place before finishing ninth at the NCAA Championship two weeks later. The Cougars have all five players back from that team. Sophomore Nick Becker who was still on his LDS mission during that time is the only change in that lineup from a year ago.
Becker has been the Cougars' hottest golfer the past month. He earned Golf World Magazines' National Collegiate Golfer of the Week after defeating the nation's top two ranked collegiate golfers in winning the 2005 Mountain West Conference Championship. He was also BYU's top finisher at the PING Cougar Classic where he finished 12-under-par and in third place.
The Cougars will also count on All-American and 2005 All-MWC selection Oscar Alvarez, who finished fourth at last years' NCAA West Regional and 17th at the 2004 NCAA Championship. Alvarez holds the best stroke average on the team followed by fellow All-MWC selection Greg Machtaler, who along with Alvarez has been ranked among the nation's top individual players all year.
Senior Ron Harvey and Sophomore Jake Ellison will also need to play well for the Cougars to advance to the NCAA Championship. BYU has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championship 19 times including the 1981 National Championship.
Fans can follow the Cougars live on the internet at www.golfstat.com. BYU will have a late tee time on Thursday and a early tee time on Friday morning.
WEST REGIONAL
Teams Seeds (Conference champions in parentheses)
1. UNLV
2. New Mexico (Mountain West)
3. Auburn
4. Arizona State
5. UCLA
6. Arizona
7. Brigham Young
8. South Carolina
9. Southern California
10. Washington (Pac-10)
11. LSU
12. Pepperdine (West Coast)
13. San Diego State
14. UC Riverside (Big West)
15. St. Mary's (California)
16. Stanford
17. Texas-Arlington (Southland)
18. Colorado State
19. Cal Poly
20. Fresno State
21. Oregon
22. Denver
23. South Alabama (Sun Belt)
24. Illinois State (Missouri Valley)
25. Samford (Ohio Valley)
26. Princeton (Ivy)
27. Central Connecticut State (Northeast)
Individuals:
1. Jeff Hood, California
2. Garrett Sapp, UC Irvine
3. David Kim, San Jose State
4. Kenny Ebalo, Southern Utah
5. Danny Bowen, New Mexico State
6. Tyler Goulding, Air Force