NCAA Bound: @MizzouMensGolf Earns Regional Bid
5/4/2017 12:08:00 PM | Men's Golf
Mizzou Men's Golf program earns 13th NCAA bid in program history
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou Men's Golf will make the program's 13th appearance in NCAA postseason play as the Tigers were selected as the No. 5 seed at the 2017 NCAA College Grove Regional, as announced Thursday, May 4. The Tigers will take to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, from Monday, May 15-Wednesday, May 17, with their eyes on advancing to the 2017 NCAA Championship Finals at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, from May 26-31.
Under the direction of Head Coach Mark Leroux, Mizzou has advanced to an NCAA Regional seven times, including a run of four-of-five seasons with appearances between 2010-14. The Tigers' trip to Murfreesboro marks the squad's first regional since finishing the 2013-14 campaign with a Columbia Regional appearance and trip to the 2014 NCAA Championship Finals in Wichita, Kansas.
"First and foremost, I'm so proud of each of the guys on our team," Leroux said. "All 10 golfers in our clubhouse have made this Mizzou season a special one and helped elevate our play to a championship level. We're thrilled to return to the postseason, because that's a standard and expectation we always set for ourselves. After building up some momentum at the SEC Championship, we're excited to see what we can accomplish in Murfreesboro."
There will be 13 total teams in the College Grove Regional field. Those competing alongside Mizzou include: No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 3 Clemson, No. 4 Georgia, No. 6 Lipscomb, No. 7 Kennesaw State, No. 8 UCF, No. 9 Middle Tennessee (host), No. 10 TCU, No. 11 Troy, No. 12 ETSU and No. 13 Harvard. The top five teams at each regional advance to the final championship field.
Detailing Mizzou's most recent NCAA Regional appearance in 2014, the Tigers were hosts at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia. Former Black & Gold standout Emilio Cuartero won the regional individual title, shooting 11-under-par over three rounds.
As a squad, Leroux's Tigers finished third out of 14 teams to advance to the NCAA Championship Finals in Wichita, where the squad saw former Mizzou golfer Ryan Zech fire a 9-under-par tournament to place tied for ninth. The effort was Mizzou's best individual performance at the NCAA Tournament since Rich Poe in 1963.
Mizzou Men's Golf NCAA Regional Appearances:
1989 - 16th
1990 - 18th
1992 - 21st
1995 - 21st
2002 - 20th
2003 - 26th
2005 - 6th
2006 - 19th
2010 - 10th
2011 - 6th
2013 - 8th
2014 - 3rd
Mizzou Men's Golf NCAA Finals Appearances:
1949 - N/A
1963 - 15th
1971 - N/A
1972 - 29th
1983 - 13th
1984 - 14th
1986 - 22nd
2005 - 16th
2014 - 20th
For all the latest on Mizzou Men's Golf, stay tuned to MUTigers.com or follow on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@MizzouMensGolf).
