Men's Golf Excited for the Opportunity to Host NCAA Regional

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville men's golf team hopes there is something to having a home course advantage.

For the first time in school history, the Cardinals are hosting an NCAA Regional when play begins at the par 71, 7,217-yard University of Louisville Golf Club on Monday morning.

After playing in numerous regionals over the course of his 19-year coaching career, head coach Mark Crabtree is proud that his Cardinals will stay at home for the first time, hosting this competitive regional event.

"It's great for our program, great for the community, and great for the coach," Crabtree said. "I think our guys are truly excited to be playing on their home course. It means more to be playing at home and I hope it gives us an advantage. We know the golf course better than anyone else, but still have to go out and play."

In order to advance to their fourth NCAA Championship, the Cardinals will have to maneuver a challenging field that features the No. 1 team in the country and defending national champion, Oklahoma State.

Besides having the nation's top program, eight other programs ranked in the top 50 in the latest Golfstat rankings will compete at the regional.

Louisville, ranked 21st in the nation and the No. 4 seed in the regional, is making its 11th NCAA appearance in school history and fifth in the last six seasons.

Coming off one of their most successful seasons, the Cardinals have plenty of reasons for optimism and are excited to be playing on their home course. They posted a school-record 11 top-5 finishes this season and lead the nation in birdies and eagles. Louisville picked up its lone win at the Old Town Collegiate and also posted five second-place endings.

"You still have to execute, but you know club selection, you know wind conditions, you know those factors at play," head coach Mark Crabtree said. "But at the same time you have to remind your players, 'You've got to be able to play. You've got to play well."

The U of L Golf Club course will provide a difficult challenge for the field, as it's one of the longer courses in the country, but the Cardinals are confident that they are ready for this opportunity.

"You need to be very accurate off the tee," said Simon Zach, one of the team's veterans. "The rough is pretty high and the greens are getting pretty firm, so if you want to perform well and shoot good scores you need to play smart. You need to hit the ball into the right places and then if you miss a green or miss a fairway you have a challenge to par."

With only one senior on the roster, the Cardinals are a young, but talented team. One of the top performers this season has been sophomore Matthias Schmid, who leads the nation with 155 birdies and finished under par in all 11 regular-season events. Freshman Jiri Zuska posted a 71.24 stroke average, a school record for freshmen.

Zach is playing his final tournament of his career on his home course in an NCAA regional, but it has a little more sentiment due to the fact that his parents are making the long journey from the Czech Republic to watch him play for the first time at Louisville.

"Since then there is a little bit of hunger in the back of my mind," Zach said. "So we all as a team would be really pleased if we would play well enough here and go to a national championship."

The Cardinals will open the tournament on Monday morning, teeing off at the tenth tee at 8 a.m.

Men's Golf Excited for the Opportunity to Host NCAA Regional

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Players Mentioned

Matthias Schmid

Simon Zach

Jiri Zuska

University of Louisville Athletics