The 61st Annual NAIA Men's Golf National Championships will be contested at Creekside Golf Club in mid-May featuring 29 teams and 14 individual qualifiers.
Full Field Announced For NAIA Men's Golf National Championships
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) officially released the qualifiers for the 2012 NAIA Men's Golf National Championships.
The 61st annual event presented by FORE! Salem will take place at Creekside Golf Club in Salem, Ore, May 22 – 25. First and second round pairings for the event will be announced tomorrow – Friday, May 11th – by noon (Pacific Standard Time).
The 159-player field is made up of 20 automatic qualifying schools that won their conference/independent/unaffiliated group tournaments, eight team at-large selections based on the final NAIA Men's Golf Coaches' Top 25 Poll, Corban (host berth) and 11 individual qualifiers.
Nine teams that placed in the top 10 at last year's National Championships return to the field, including defending national titlist and second-ranked Oklahoma Christian. The Eagles lost 2011 National Championships individual medalist Oscar Stark to graduation, but return three golfers who participated in last year's event. 2011 runner-up British Columbia is back after receiving an at-large bid, while No. 1-ranked Oklahoma City is poised to improve upon last year's 10th-place finish. The Stars ride into Salem after besting Oklahoma Christian in the Sooner Athletic Conference Championships.
The 14 individual qualifiers includes eight automatic selections and three at-large choices. Each of the automatic selections garnered a spot in the National Championships by winning either his respective conference tournament or regular-season individual title. Of the 14, Thane Ringler of The Master's (Calif.) and Omar Tejeira of St. Thomas (Fla.) are the only returnees from 2011. The three at-large participants were chosen by the tournament committee.
None of the top-10 individual finishers return from last year's qualifiers. The highest-placing returnee from the 2011 National Championships is Grand View's (Iowa) Josh Manske, who shot a 74-73-74-72 – 293 to finish 12th. The Cumberlands' (Ky.) Aaron Watkins, who finished tied for 50th at the 2011 championships, leads the nation this season in adjusted scoring average.
The 2012 championship event begins on Tuesday, May 22nd, with tee times off Nos. 1 and 10 beginning at 7:00 a.m.