May 15, 2000; State College, Pa.- Other sports call it home court, or home field, advantage. In golf, it's home turf.

This Thursday, May 18, the Penn State men's golf will participate in its 11th consecutive NCAA East Regional Qualifying Tournament, held at the Glenmaura National Golf Club in Moosic, Pa.

Hosted by Temple University, the 27-team event tees off at 7:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 18 and runs through Saturday, May 20. Participants will play 18 holes each day of the regional. A minimum of eight teams and top two individuals advance to the 2000 NCAA Championship at the Lake Course at the Grand National Golf Club in Opelika, Ala., on May 31-June 3.

The par-71, 6,733-yard course, located just two short hours from the PSU campus, hosted last fall's Temple Invitational, where the Nittany Lions placed second. Penn State hopes to capitalize on the Pennsylvania location and its familiarity with "the turf".

The re-visit to the course will feature some tough competition. Seeded No. 1 in District II, the Nittany Lions will play the first two rounds of NCAA regional action with defending national champion Georgia, the SEC champion and the No. 1 seed from District III South, and Georgia Tech, the top-ranked squad in the nation and the No. 1 seed from District III North. The Yellowjackets also feature two-time ACC Player-of-the-Year Bryce Molder and 1997 U.S. Amateur champion Matt Kuchar.

All-Big Ten junior Matt Abbott (Endwell, N.Y.) paces the squad, posting a 72.91 stroke average through 25 rounds. Senior Scott Phillis (Meadville, Pa.) follows with a 73.66 average, while junior Mike Saporito (Macedon, N.Y.) is third with a 74.91 average.

The Nittany Lions have participated in every NCAA East Regional since 1989. In 1996, the squad advanced to the NCAA Championship, where it finished 29th overall. The Lions' berth in the final wasn't only monumental for Penn State, but for the entire Eastern region as the Lions became the first team in District II (and District I) history to reach the national championship.