May 15, 2012
THIS WEEK
The University of Iowa men’s golf team will compete in NCAA Regional competition at The University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. The three-day event will be held May 17-19, with 18-holes of golf each day. The 13-team field will compete on The University of Georgia Golf Course. Fans can follow the action on golfstat.com.
THE COURSE
The University of Georgia Golf Course is home to the Georgia Bulldogs and plays to 7,240 yards from the championship tees. This par 71 was designed by Robert Trent Jones and originally opened in 1968. The course was named one of 2009’s top-10 public courses in Georgia by Golfweek and was later selected to host the Nationwide Tour’s “Athens Classic at UGA”. It has also hosted multiple SEC and National Championships.
REGIONAL FIELD
The Hawkeyes are the No. 5 seed in the 13-team field. In order of their respective seeding (national rankings in parentheses), the Athens Regional will consist of Alabama (2nd), North Florida (12th), New Mexico (16th), Georgia (25th), Iowa (26th), East Carolina (38th), Long Beach State (40th), Augusta State (44th), Wake Forest (59th), Houston (63rd), Texas-Arlington (80th), UNC-Wilmington (99th) and Loyola, MD (152nd).
BIG TEN HONORS
Senior Barrett Kelpin, who posted Iowa’s lowest season scoring average (72.85), finished runner-up for Big Ten Golfer of the Year and was a first team All-Big Ten selection. Senior Chris Brant and sophomore Steven Ihm were second team honorees. Both Kelpin and Brant will be competing in their fourth-consecutive NCAA Regional competition.
CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES
Iowa will be vying for its second-straight NCAA Championship appearance and third in four years. The top five teams and top individual, not on a qualifying team, in each region, advance to the NCAA Championships, held May 29-June 3 at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Iowa finished tied for 10th at the 2011 NCAA Championships, marking its best finish in school history.