The Wisconsin Badgers men's golf team will have a chance to improve upon a memorable season when they compete in the upcoming NCAA regional championships for the first time in more than 10 years. Earlier this week, the NCAA Division I men's golf committee selected the University of Wisconsin men's team to the field of 27 other teams to duke it out in the central regional May 17-19.
The Badgers will enter the tournament as the 15th-ranked team with hopes of capturing a top 10 finish, which would guarantee a bid to the NCAA championships. Along with placing in the teams in the top 10, two individuals not on advancing teams will move on from each regional to the championship finals.
"For the men's golf program, I guess the theme is just steady improvement," Schuman said. "And, you know, our motto is just to get better tomorrow than we were the day before."
The last time the Badgers qualified for the NCAA tournament was in 1994, when the team finished 15th overall and sent an individual to the NCAA finals. This year's selection marks only the fourth time overall the Badgers have qualified for regional play, and the first NCAA qualifying bid for fourth-year head coach Jim Schuman.
Along with the high-pressure environment of playing in such a prestigious tournament, the UW men's golf team will also be pitted against tough competition and an extremely challenging course. The Central regionals will be held at the Rich Harvest Farms Golf Course in Sugar Grove, Ill. How the Badgers handle the picturesque par 72, 6,725-yard course, which boasts a very demanding tee shot on the tree-lined dogleg left 14th hole, could make or break their hopes of reaching the finals. The Badgers will also have to battle top-seeded University of Alabama and conference rivals Michigan State University and the University of Minnesota, seeded 10th and 11th respectively.
Although the Badgers had some disappointing tournaments at Purdue and Ohio State earlier this year, overall the season has been one to remember. This year the men's team had nine top 10 finishes in tournaments, including two consecutive first place finishes earlier in the fall season. During the Big Ten tournament, the men's team finished fifth overall, the best finish for the Badgers since 1999 when they placed fourth overall. In only his second appearance in the Big Ten tournament, sophomore Patrick Duffy finished tied for 10th, a team high. More impressive was the fact that every Badger finished within the top 40.
A large part of the team's success in 2007 is due to the fantastic play of senior Garrett Jones, who is averaging 73.43 strokes per round. Jones remains on pace to break the career scoring record for Wisconsin, which currently stands at 74 strokes per round set by Ron Wuensche from 1988-92.
"I look back, you know, he's our senior, and he's the guy that's played the most for us," Schuman said. "And when you look back at his career when he first got here, you know, he was a guy that had to shoulder most of the load just about week in and week out."
Coach Schuman will rely on Jones, the team's only senior, to provide leadership to a young Badger team. But one player cannot carry a team, and underclassmen Jeff Kaiser, Dan Woltman and Duffy should be able to take much of the burden off of Jones. However, if the Badgers want to clinch a spot in the championships, they must keep their composure under pressure and play consistently.
— UWBadgers.com contributed to this report.
