The Northwestern College men’s golf team was officially announced as one of the 29 qualifiers for the upcoming 2018 NAIA Men’s Golf National Championship. The 67th annual championship event will take place at the TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. for the third straight year.
Head Coach Aaron Aberson’s squad is one of the 21 automatic qualifying teams that either won or finished runner-up in their respective conference championships. Seven teams earn an at-large bid into the championship field, based on their ranking in the final coaches’ top 25 poll, and there is one host bid, awarded to Saint Ambrose, to complete the 29-team field. 156 total players will compete, including 11 individual qualifiers (nine automatic-winner’s of conference tournaments or all-tournament from previous NAIA championship, two at-large).
Northwestern is making it fourth straight and eighth overall championship appearance, earning a bid after winning the GPAC Championship for the fourth consecutive year. Aberson’s squad recorded their best ever finish at the 2017 event, tying for 13th place, the best finish by a team from the GPAC.
The Red Raiders will begin play on Monday, May 15, in one of the final groups of the day (1:20pm), joining Oregon Tech and a group of individual qualifiers. They will then play in early group on Tuesday, beginning at 8:40am, with the game teams/golfers. The final two rounds’ pairing are based on the team’s finish.
