The Bulldogs are seeded first in the Tuscaloosa Regional, which will be held at Ol’ Colony Golf Complex. Thirteen teams will compete in the Regional, with the top five teams advancing to the NCAA Championships May 27-June 1 in Eugene, Ore.
Joining the Bulldogs and host/fourth-seeded Alabama will be No. 2 seed Auburn, No. 3 seed South Carolina, No. 5 seed UNLV, No. 6 seed Kentucky, No. 7 seed Kansas, No. 8 seed Charleston, No. 9 seed Lipscomb, No. 10 seed Charleston Southern, No. 11 seed Colorado, No. 12 seed Harvard and No. 13 seed Southern Illinois. Georgia, UNLV, Charleston, Harvard and Southern Illinois were automatic qualifiers as conference champions.
“I thought the SEC Championship was last month,” Georgia coach Chris Haack said with a laugh. “At least we’ll have familiarity with those four SEC schools and they’ll know about us. Looking at our Regional top to bottom, it’s extremely competitive and will be a tough challenge. But that’s how it’s supposed to be this time of year. To contend for and win championships, you have to play your best golf, so we’re excited about the opportunity.”
Georgia has won three tournaments this season, including the SEC Championship. The Bulldogs also have three seconds, a third, two fourths, and a sixth this season. Said Haack, “We’ve been a consistent squad all season, certainly much better than a year ago.”
The other Regional sites are Gallery Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz.; University of New Mexico Championship Course in Albuquerque, N.M.; Blackwolf Run in Kohler, Wisc.; Vanderbilt Legends Club in Nashville, Tenn.; and Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla.
The Bulldogs were invited to an NCAA Regional for the 21st straight year and for the 27th time in 28 seasons since the format was introduced in 1988-89. The Bulldogs have advanced from the Regional to the NCAAs 20 times. The Bulldogs have been invited to an NCAA Regional in all 20 of Haack's seasons and have moved onto the NCAAs in 17 of the previous 19 campaigns. Haack led the Bulldogs to the 1999 and 2005 national titles, to runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2011, and to the “Final Fore” in 2015.
