May 23, 2011
INDIANAPOLIS - Fresh off a runner-up finish at regionals over the weekend, the Texas A&M men's golf team earned the No. 8 seed for next week's NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., the selection committee announced Monday.
The Aggies will be paired with seventh-seeded San Diego State and ninth-seeded Illinois for first-round action, which gets underway next Tuesday, May 31. The teams will tee off beginning at 1:10 p.m. from the 10th hole.
Host Oklahoma State earned the No. 1 seed and will be paired in the top flight with UCLA (No. 2) and Alabama (No. 3). Other Big 12 teams in the field include Texas (No. 11 seed) and Oklahoma (No. 21).
The 30-team field will compete in three rounds of stroke play which will wrap up on June 2. From there the top eight teams advance to the quarterfinals, which are contested in match-play format and laid out in a bracket, much like college basketball. The tournament wraps up on Sunday, June 5.
Texas A&M won the national championship in 2009, the first year of the new match-play format. Augusta State is the defending national champion, having claimed the crown last June in Chattanooga.
All-session tickets for this year's championship are $50 and may be purchased online at www.ncaa.com/tickets or by calling the OSU Ticket Office at 877-255-4678. Individual session ($10) and all-session tickets may also be bought at the ticket tent located at the Lake Carl Blackwell public parking area.
The practice round begins on Monday, May 30 at 9 a.m. in a shotgun format and admission to that is free.