The Vanderbilt men's golf team received its first berth in the NCAA Championships in two years and will play in the regional championship hosted by Western Kentucky University.
The 54-hole event will take place from May 14-16 at The Club at Olde Stone.
"I only know the course from its reputation, but I expect it to be really difficult," said Vanderbilt coach Tom Shaw. "This course should separate the real teams from the wanna-be's."
The field consists of 81 teams over six sites, with three groups of 14 and three groups of 13. Among the teams in the field with the Commodores are No. 1 seeded Washington, the Pac-10 champs, and Georgia Tech, the Atlantic Coast Conference champs. Only five teams will advance on from each site to the NCAA Championships.
11 out of 12 Southeastern Conference schools made the tournament, with Auburn the lone team not making it.
Vanderbilt hadn't made the field since 2007, when it placed fifth in the NCAA West Regional and advanced on to the NCAA National Championship for just the third time in the school's history. Senior Jon Curran, then a sophomore, finished second overall at the regional and earned a top-10 finish at nationals.
The six-site regional field is different from the past, where there were just three sites with 27 teams apiece.
"This way is probably better, to not have so many teams at one site," Shaw said. "You have the chance to space it out and certainly have a better pace. But only five teams advance, so you really have to come out ready to play from day one."
The National Championships will take place from May 26-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
Chris Weinman contributed to this article.
