May 24, 2006
Reno, Nev. - The Nevada men's golf team earned a bid to the 2006 NCAA Championships Tournament by finishing ninth out of 27 teams at the NCAA West Regional. The Wolf Pack will be one of 30 teams competing in the event. The tournament will be held at the Crosswater Golf Course at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. on May 31-June 3. Nevada is the No. 30 seed and will tee off for the first round at 9:14 a.m. on Wednesday, May 31.
This will be only the third trip for the Pack to an NCAA Tournament and the first under head coach Rich Merritt. The last time Nevada qualified for the NCAA Tournament was in 1990. The Wolf Pack finished the tournament in 28th place. The Pack's best finish was the year before in 1989 when the team finished 25th.
Nevada qualified for the tournament by finishing ninth at the west regional. The Pack finished with a score of 282-287-282= 851 (-13) and won its first-ever individual medalist honors at an NCAA Regional.
For the first time in his career, senior Casey Watabu (Lihue, Hawaii) won individual medalist honors when he tied for first place at the west regional, shooting 70-69-64= 203 (-13). Watabu opened the tournament in a tie for 26th, then improved to 17th after day two and jumped to tie for first place with a final round 64 on Saturday. Watabu's 64 is just one shot shy of the school record for a single round and is the first time Nevada has had an athlete win the individual championship at an NCAA Regional. The last time a Pack golfer won a tournament was in 2001 when Sprague Kolp won the Wolf Pack Classic. Watabu tied with Florida's Billy Horschel who shot a final round 66.
Adam Hagen leads the Pack with a 71.5 scoring average. He also leads Nevada in top-five finishes (3), top-10 finishes (4) and top-20 finishes (9). Hagen is one of only two Pack athletes to compete in all 38 rounds for Nevada. John Cassidy is other. Cassidy is third on the team with a 72.7 scoring average. He also has one top-five finish. Casey Watabu has a 71.9 scoring average and now has the low round for the Pack after shooting a 64 at the west regional. The Pack as a team is shooting two-over par on the season.
The tournament will take place over four days. After the first 54 holes of play, the field will be cut to the low 15 teams and low 6 individuals not on those teams. Those teams will then play a final round to determine the champion. Only 156 players can play the final day.
The Crosswater Golf Course at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore. is a 7, 630 yard par 72. The course is honored by Golf Digest as one of "America's 100 Greatest Courses," Crosswater is a heathland-style course situated on 600 magnificently scenic acres of woodlands and carefully preserved wetlands. The course features bent grass fairways and greens and is threaded by the gently flowing Deschutes and Little Deschutes Rivers.
You can buy tickets in advance by calling the University of Portland at 503-943-7117. Tickets may also be purchased during the championship at the Sunriver Resort Concierge or the off site parking area. Pre-purchased tickets will be available to pick up at the Sunriver Resort. A complete tournament pass ($33) is available, or tickets can be purchased for each individual round ($13 each for rounds one, two and three, and $18 for the final round). Ticket prices include a souvenir tournament program and an individual round pairing sheet.
Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com, while complete results will be available at www.nevadawolfpack.com as soon as they become available.
Come run with the Pack!
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