By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Missouri Western men's golf team will play in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four years.
The Griffons are one of eight teams out of the Central Region selected to take part in the tournament. This is the fifth regional appearance for MWSU over the past 16 seasons. They finished fifth in the final Central Regional Rankings, which were released Friday.
The Central and Midwest Regions will come together for the NCAA Regional tournament that will take place at Shoal Creek Golf Club in Kansas City May 6-8.
Missouri Western played in a regional preview tournament last month at Shoal Creek and finished second out of 26 teams.
The Griffons have played in eight tournament this spring and have finished in the top five in six of those events. They were also the runner-up in four tournaments this season. Their 296.3 four-player scoring average is the second best in the last 13 years.
Three Griffons have experience in the NCAA Regional. Patrick McCarthy, Tom Buffington and Lucas Horseman were on the 2018 team that had a top-10 finish.
McCarthy also played as an individual in the regional tournaments in 2017 and 2019. Those three have led the way all season. McCarthy has a 73.3 scoring average, while Buffington and Horseman are both at 74.4.
Central Region:
1. University of Central Missouri [MIAA]
2. Arkansas Tech University [Great American Conference]
3. Henderson State University
4. Washburn University
5. Missouri Western State University
6. Southwest Oklahoma State University
7. University of Sioux Falls
8. Winona State University [Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference]
Individuals:
1. Luke Palmowski, Rogers State University
2. Kade Johnson, Southern Arkansas University
3. Roman Timmerman, Southern Arkansas University
Midwest Region:
1. University of Indianapolis
2. Grand Valley State University
3. University of Findlay
4. Maryville University of Saint Louis [Great Lakes Valley Conference]
5. Hillsdale College
6. University of Missouri – St. Louis
7. Trevecca Nazarene University [Great Midwest Athletic Conference]
8. Ferris State University [Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference]
Individuals:
1. Carl Miltun, Missouri University of Science and Technology
2. Grant Haefner, Wayne State University (Michigan)
3. Pha Vichitcharoenpai, McKendree University