May 7, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has earned a bid to play in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship as it was selected to the Norman Regional, which will be held on May 17-19 in Norman, Okla., the NCAA announced Monday night.

The Gamecocks received the No. 9 seed and will compete against 13 teams at the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, while five individuals will play for medalist honors. Five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional site will advance to the NCAA Championship, which will be held on May 31-June 3 at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif.

“This is always an exciting time of the year in college golf, and we are looking forward to regional play,” South Carolina head coach Bill McDonald said. “The team did an outstanding job on their final exams last week and they are back to practicing and getting ready for the postseason. We have had a solid year with a young team, and I know that this group is working hard to get prepared. This will be a great experience for our three freshmen, and I am expecting us to have a strong showing.”

No. 49 South Carolina will face eight of the nation’s top 50 teams according to Golfstat, including top-ranked Texas, No. 12 Georgia Tech, No. 13 Washington, No. 23 Florida State, No. 31 Oklahoma, No. 35 Illinois, No. 36 St. Mary’s and No. 48 Middle Tennessee State. San Diego, Arizona, Sacramento State, Indiana/Purdue-Indianapolis and Loyola Chicago round out the field.

The selection marks the Gamecocks’ 20th NCAA Regional appearance, including their 15th bid in the last 16 years, and they have advanced to the NCAA Championship 16 times, with the last being in 2009.

South Carolina’s last regional appearance was at the 2010 East Regional. The Gamecocks finished eighth with a score of 846 (+6), while George Bryan IV (tied for sixth), Wesley Bryan (tied for sixth) and Paul Woodbury (tied for eighth) all finished in the top 10. South Carolina owns one regional title as it won the 2007 West Regional and went on to finish tied for 11th at the NCAA Championship.

South Carolina is one of eight SEC programs to make the field of 81. Alabama and Georgia were selected to the Athens Regional. Auburn and Florida will represent the conference in the Greensboro Regional. Arkansas is in the Bowling Green Regional, while LSU and Tennessee are in the Stanford Regional.

The full NCAA Championship field can be found at NCAA.com.

2012 NCAA Norman Regional
May 17-19 – Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club – Norman, Okla.
1. Texas
2. Georgia Tech
3. Washington
4. Florida State
5. Oklahoma
6. St. Mary’s (Calif.)
7. Illinois
8. Middle Tennessee
9. South Carolina
10. San Diego
11. Arizona
12. Sacramento State
13. Indiana/Purdue-Indianapolis
14. Loyola Chicago

Individuals
1. Martin Simonsen, UTEP
2. Kevin Lucas, Nevada
3. Mitchell McLeroy, Stephen F. Austin
4. Scott Willman, Nebraska
5. Alfred Kerstis, UALR