OUInsider - Owen Field

(OU Sports Information)

The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Committee has selected the teams and individuals to participate in the 2012 NCAA Golf Championships, including the 14 squads and five individuals who will compete in the Norman Regional May 17-19.

Ranked No. 30 nationally, the University of Oklahoma will be the No. 5 seed in Norman next week when competition begins at the 7,387-yard, par-72 Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club.

"We are excited to bring a great field to Norman and to the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club," said OU head coach Ryan Hybl. "We have been working for a long time for next week to happen and I can't wait for it to get here."

The Norman Regional is one of six 54-hole regional events that will serve as a preliminary round for the NCAA Championships finals. The low five teams and individuals not on advancing teams from each regional will advance to the finals, to be held May 29-June 3 at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

NCAA regional events will also be held in Greensboro, N.C., Athens, Ga., Bowling Green, Ky., Ann Arbor, Mich., and Stanford, Calif.

Hybl’s squad is coming off of a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championship in Trinity, Texas. It was the team's eighth top-five finish of the season and OU's best conference championship performance since winning in 2006.

"Our guys are fired up," said Hybl, "and it will be a challenge for us next week, for sure. Our goal is to keep a normal schedule like we do on the road. The key will be to not get too amped up during the week in order to keep emotions level."

Last season, the No. 24-ranked Sooners finished third at the NCAA East Regional in Radford, Va., earning the program's 32nd NCAA Championships appearance. OU advanced with ease, finishing 22 shots clear of sixth-place Virginia Tech. Then-sophomore Abraham Ancer earned medalist honors at the event, finishing with a 6-under-par 210. The Sooners went on to finish 28th at the NCAA finals in Stillwater, Okla.

The NCAA Norman Regional Field (Golfweek/Sagarin Ranking)
1. Texas (1)
2. Georgia Tech (9)
3. Washington (13)
4. Florida State (24)
5. Oklahoma (30)
6. St. Mary’s (Calif.) (34)
7. Illinois (32)
8. Middle Tennessee (47)
9. South Carolina (53)
10. San Diego (61)
11. Arizona (60)
12. Sacramento State (84)
13. Indiana/Purdue-Indianapolis (113)
14. Loyola Chicago (220)

Individuals:
1. Martin Simonsen, UTEP
2. Kevin Lucas, Nevada
3. Mitchell McLeroy, Stephen F. Austin
4. Scott Willman, Nebraska
5. Alfred Kerstis, UALR