By LANCE RINGLER
Assistant EditorBeginning next season, the number of NCAA men’s regional sites will be increased from three to six for the 2009 postseason following the NCAA Championship Cabinet’s approval.
The new regional sites will be RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla.; The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky.; and Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. They join the three previously selected sites: Galloway (N.J.) National Golf Club; University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas; and Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, Calif.
Three regionals will have fields of 13 teams and 10 individuals, with the other three consisting of 14 teams and five individuals each for a total of 75 players at each site. The top five teams and the top individual not on an advancing team will qualify from each regional site for the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
The finals also will have a new format, with the final eight teams after 54 holes facing off in match play to determine the national champion. The individual winner will be crowned after 54 holes instead of 72 as in past years.
The changes only affect the men’s postseason. NCAA Division I women will continue to play three regionals and a 72-hole, stroke-play championship.
Posted: 7/22/2008