LSU golfers headed to regional

• Advocate news services
• Published: May 6, 2008 - UPDATED: 6:35 a.m.

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The LSU men’s golf team earned an invitation from the NCAA Selection Committee on Monday to compete as the No. 13 seed in the NCAA West Regional, which will be played at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash., May 15-17.

It is the first time that the Tigers will compete in NCAA postseason play since qualifying for the NCAA West Regional in 2005.

A total of 81 teams and 18 individuals from teams not competing in NCAA postseason play were chosen to participate at three regional sites, including the East Regional at Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn., the Central Regional at Scarlet Golf Course in Columbus, Ohio, and the West Regional.

The top 10 teams from each regional site and the top two individuals not among the top 10 teams will qualify to compete in the 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships at Boilermaker Golf Club in West Lafayette, Ind., from May 28-31.

The top seed in the West Regional is the nation’s No. 2 overall seed in Southern California, while No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Stanford and No. 5 Clemson round out the top five seeds in the region.

Rounding out the 27-team regional field in order of seeding are UNLV, North Carolina, Texas Tech, Central Florida, Arizona State, San Diego State, Texas, LSU, Oregon State, Pepperdine, Oregon, California, St. Mary’s, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Washington, Oklahoma, Kansas State, San Diego, Denver, Navy and Columbia.

“This is a big step in the right direction for our program,” LSU coach Chuck Winstead said. “We earned a postseason berth with the youngest lineup in the Southeastern Conference, and I know that our guys are excited about playing in the postseason and having the opportunity to earn a spot on the biggest stage in college golf at the NCAA Championships.”