2009 NCAA Championships Get Underway with Monday's Practice Round
5/26/2009 1:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
TOLEDO, OH ? The 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Championships began on Monday with all 30 teams and six individuals hitting the Inverness Club links for a practice round. Teams began play this morning with a 9:00 a.m. shotgun start.
Golfers were able to get their first peak at the championship course on the Memorial Day holiday with temperature nearing 70 degrees on a windy, sunny day.
Oklahoma State is the No. 1 seed for the tournament and will be seeking its 11th team title in NCAA history. The last national title the Cowboys won came in 2006.
“The course is obviously playing a lot harder than it did in the fall,” OSU Head Coach Mike McGraw said. “I think everybody expected that with the addition of some rough, but the greens aren't as fast as they were in the fall. It's plenty fast enough with the length of the rough. The golf course is just fantastic, and it's what you want for championship golf.”
This week's tournament will be the last for Ohio State mentor Jim Brown, who is retiring after 36 years of coaching. This will be the 19th NCAA championship Brown has led the Buckeyes to and the program's 30th championship appearance overall.
“It's really exciting to be here,” Brown said. “That was one of our goals, for my last tournament to be in Ohio. The guys got it done in the regional, and I couldn't think of a better way to end my coaching career than in the state of Ohio.”
Brown said the key to success will be remaining mentally strong and keeping the ball in the fairway.
“You've got to be tough,” Brown said. “If you don't play, no matter who you are, if you're not hitting it straight and don't keep your ball in play, it's going to be tough on everybody. There will be some high scores out here. You're going to hit it in the rough a few times.”
Stroke play will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before the field is cut to eight teams for team match play on Friday and Saturday. Live hole-by-hole scoring can be accessed at golfstat.com.
Tickets for the tournament are available at the course. One-day passes can be purchased for $15.00 with all-tournament passes available for $35.00.
