The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Men's Golf Team Ready For NCAA Championships
5/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 25, 2012
Live Scoring | NCAA Championship Notes| NCAA Championship Blog | Riviera Country Club
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB men's golf team is set to depart Birmingham, Ala. on Saturday morning for the 2012 NCAA Men's Golf Championships. The event, which is being held at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif., will take place on May 29-June 3.
The Blazers are one of 30 teams (top five from each of the six regionals) which advanced to the national event. The five golfers for UAB include: Hunter Hawkins, Thomas Sutton, Sam Love, Paul Dunne and Wilson McDonald.
The 30-team field will play 18 holes each day from Tuesday, May 29 through Thursday, May 31. The top eight teams after the 54 holes will then advance to a match-play format. The first round of match play (18 holes) will take play on Friday, June 1, followed by the semifinals on Saturday, June 2 and the championship match on Sunday, June 3.
UAB Earns Fourth Trip To Nationals
UAB, ranked No. 34 in the nation in the latest Golfstat.com head-to-head rankings, advanced to the 2012 NCAA Championships 2012 following its third-place result at the NCAA Stanford Regional, which was held May 17-19 at the Stanford University Golf Course. The Blazers recorded a 54-hole score of 830, which was the best showing at a NCAA Regional in program history and also marked the second-lowest 54-hole tournament score since the program began (1978-79).
This year's showing marks the fourth time that the UAB men's golf team has earned a trip to the NCAA Nationals. Of those four appearances, the Blazers best result came in 2001 with a 12th-place finish.
Tournament Format
UAB received the No. 25 seed in the 2012 NCAA Championship. The 30-team field will play 18 holes each day from Tuesday, May 29 through Thursday, May 31. The top eight teams after the 54 holes will then advance to a match-play format. The first round of match play (18 holes) will take play on Friday, June 1, followed by the semifinals on Saturday, June 2 and the championship match on Sunday, June 3.
The Blazers will be paired with two other teams for each of the first two rounds of play. UAB will be playing alongside TCU and Conference USA foe Memphis. The trio of teams will open championship play with an 8:10 a.m. PT tee time off hole No. 10. On Wednesday, the three teams will tee off on the first hole at 1:30 p.m. PT. Third round tee times will be based on where the Blazers' rank among the 30 teams after the opening two rounds.
Blazers Finish Third At NCAA Stanford Regional
The UAB men's golf team closed play in third place at the 2012 NCAA Stanford Regional with a team score of 10-under par 830 (278-274-278). The three rounds were among the top five rounds of the season for the Blazer linksters.
Below is a breakdown of the Blazers' eight NCAA Regional appearances and how they finished:
Year Overall Place Nationals
1998 892 16th of 23 No
2000 913 17th of 27 No
2001 855 9th of 27 Yes
2002 899 T-9th of 27 Yes
2004 910 21st of 27 No
2007 898 14th of 27 No
2008 839 5th of 27 Yes
2012 830 3rd of 13 Yes
Record-Setting Regional
UAB recorded some of its top scores in program history at the three-day, 54-hole event, which was held at the Stanford University Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif.
The Blazers carded a team score of six-under par 274 during the event's second round, which ranked tied for the third-lowest single round in program history. Coupled with the opening round 278, UAB's 36-hole score of 552 was the second-lowest in the record books. Additionally, the Blazers' tournament total of 830 also ranked as the second-lowest 54-hole mark in program lore.
All three marks were the lowest from any regional in school history.
UAB In The National Rankings
The UAB men's golf team is ranked No. 34 in the country according to the latest Golfstat.com national rankings, which were released on May 23. The Blazers earned the No. 25 seed in the NCAA Championship field (30 teams), which was based on their national ranking and how the team finished at Regionals.
Kaufman Does It Again
The 2012 appearance at Nationals for the Blazers marks the fourth time in program history that they have reached the championship event. Each of the four appearances have come under UAB head coach Alan Kaufman.
Kaufman, now in his 14th season at the helm of the Blazers men's golf program, has taken his teams to unprecedented heights. In additional to the four NCAA National Championship appearances, Kaufman has also led his teams to seven of the school's eight appearances in program history. He has an all-time record of 1256-1006-36 (.554), including a 112-39-3 mark during the 2011-12 season (.737).
Shufflebotham Out For Nationals
UAB senior golfer Jason Shufflebotham will not compete at the NCAA National Championships due to a prior commitment. Shufflebotham will be competing at the 2012 Welsh Open - a European Tour event - as one of only three amateur invites.
Shufflebotham has been a key contributor on this season's team. His 72.7 strokes per round average ranks second on the team, while he has also recorded two top-10 and seven top-25 finishes on the year. He finished play at the Stanford Regional tied for 22nd overall with a one-under par 209, which included a final round of four-under par 66.
C-USA One Of Top Golf Conferences
A league record five Conference USA men's golf teams have qualified for the NCAA Championship after finishing among the top five teams at their respective regionals. Only the Pac-12, who boasts six teams at this year's championship, topped C-USA in terms of total number of teams competing.
Joining the 34th-ranked Blazers at the Riviera Country Club are No. 20 UCF, No. 30 East Carolina, No. 38 Memphis and No. 52 Tulsa. The five teams advancing to the finals surpass the previous record of two teams in 2001 and 2002.
Former UAB Golfer Turned PGA Star
One of the most famous almuni who played under head coach Alan Kaufmann at UAB is current PGA Tour star Graeme McDowell.
McDowell played three seasons with the Blazers, helping them to the 2001 and 2002 NCAA Championships. In fact, UAB's best-ever finish came in 2001 when it tied for 12th.
McDowell ended his career as the most decorated golfer in program history, earning the Fred Haskins Award as the nation's top golfer in 2002. He also claimed the Golfstat Award (given to the golfer with the lowest average in the nation) in 2002 and was a two-time PING All-American and C-USA Player of the Year (2001 and 2002).
In 2010, McDowell claimed the U.S. Open Championship - one of eight professional golf victories in his career.
