May 5, 2008

University Park, Pa. - The Penn State men's golf team earned an NCAA Regional bid for the 18th time in 19 years, but this time they'll be headed to the Central Region - the first time the team has ever competed in any region other than the East Region.

The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee selected 81 teams Monday to participate in the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. Three 54-hole regional tournaments will be held May 15-17. Ten teams and two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the championship finals.

The Central Regional, hosted by Ohio State University, will be played at the 7,455-yard, par-71 OSU Scarlet Course. The Nittany Lions, seeded 13th in the 27-team field, played the course earlier this year, finishing in sixth place at Ohio State's Kepler Intercollegiate. Seven schools from the Big Ten Conference were selected to compete in the tournament, with five competing in the Central Region.

Penn State, ranked No. 37 nationally by Golfstat and No. 43 in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, won three tournaments this season and recorded nine top-5 finishes. The Lions won the Wolf Run Intercollegiate and VCU Shootout in back-to-back weeks in the fall and won the Rutherford Intercollegiate in mid-April.

The NCAA Championships, hosted by Purdue University, will be conducted May 28-31 on the Kampen Course at the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Ind.

CENTRAL REGIONAL - MAY 15-17 | Scarlet Golf Course | Columbus, Ohio | Hosted by The Ohio State University

Teams (seeded in the following order):
1. Alabama
2. Oklahoma State
3. Georgia Tech
4. Florida
5. Tennessee
6. Lamar
7. Wake Forest
8. Indiana
9. Texas A&M
10. Louisville
11. Wichita State
12. Kent State
13. PENN STATE
14. Arkansas
15. Michigan
16. TCU
17. Texas-Arlington
18. Illinois
19. Ohio State
20. Baylor
21. Colorado
22. Eastern Kentucky
23. Marquette
24. Eastern Michigan
25. Cleveland State
26. Loyola (Maryland)
27. Sacred Heart