Tide Opens Play in NCAA West Regional Thursday
5/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
TUCSON, ARIZ. ?? The Crimson Tide begins its first step toward its quest to be a national contender Thursday. Alabama opens play in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships West Regional Thursday at Omni Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. Alabama has an 11:48 a.m. local/1:48 p.m. CT tee time off the No. 10 tee Thursday in first round play. The Tide is paired with East Tennessee State and Baylor.
The teams got their first feel for the course on Wednesday in the practice round. Shown in the photo is Tide sophomore golfer Mark Harrell during his practice round in Tucson on Wednesday. Harrell is one of three Alabama golfers who are making their second straight trip to postseason play. His fellow sophomores Gator Todd and Joseph Sykora also helped power Alabama to a top six finish at the 2005 NCAA East Regional and advance on to the NCAA finals. Making their NCAA debuts are freshman Matthew Swan and sophomore Stewart Whitt.
Alabama is one of 27 teams competing in the West Regional on the par 72 course at Omni Tucson National Golf Club. The tournament is 54 holes and continues through Saturday. The top ten teams will advance to the NCAA Championships which will be held May 31-June 3 at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. Orlando is hosting the East Regional and Cleveland the Central Regional, both also being played Thursday through Saturday. Ten teams and the top two individuals advance from each of the three regionals.
