May 15, 2002
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- For the eighth consecutive year, Northwestern's men's golf team is participating in an NCAA Regional. The Wildcats' team goal is simple: place in the top 10 and earn a third trip to the national championships since 1999.
Under current Head Coach Pat Goss, Northwestern has advanced to four national tournaments in five years. Only last year did the Wildcats come up short.
Although this year's club is the first since 1997-98 to not own a regular-season tournament championship and a Big Ten title, Goss says this group is still capable of placing in the top 10 and advancing to the next round.
"I've said it the last few weeks, but I still think our best golf is in front of us. We've had some great practices since the end of Big Tens, and I feel our guys are determined to play well. They've worked hard and deserve this chance."
The Central Regional Championships get underway Thursday, May 16 with the first group teeing off at 7:12 a.m. CDT. The tournament is being held at the Pleasant Valley Country Club. Northwestern's contingent is scheduled to begin play at 7:12 a.m. from the 10th tee. The tournament format is 18 holes each day, through Saturday.
The top five seeds in the Central Regional are: 1. TCU; 2. North Carolina State; 3. Oklahoma State; 4. Virginia Tech; and 5. Oklahoma. Northwestern is one of three Big Ten teams competing in Little Rock and one of seven overall in postseason play. Purdue (No. 7) and Illinois (No. 15) earned at-large berths in the Central Regional.
Sophomore Tom Johnson (Fair Oaks, Calif./Del Campo) is the Wildcats' top golfer (73.03 stroke average), but junior Scott Harrington (Portland, Ore./Jesuit) is the team's hottest player. Harrington has played the best golf of his career the past few weeks, finishing second at both the Kepler Intercollegiate and Big Ten Championship events.
Fans can follow the live action from Little Rock by visiting NCAA Central Regional Championships for live team and individual scoring. For complete information on the NCAA Golf Championships, visit NCAA Online.