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Illini, Northwestern men's golfers join NCAA regional field

Last week the women's golf teams at Northwestern and Illinois received invitations to the NCAA tournament. On Thursday the men's teams at both schools also received their invitations to regional play.

That means there could be a good in-state representation at the two-week finals at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove starting May 19.

The Illinois men had the highest regional seed of the local invitees, landing the No. 2 spot behind Florida in a regional at Purdue University's Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Ind. Northwestern's men, runner-up to the Illini in last week's Big Ten tournament, are the No. 5 seed in a tough regional at Louisiana State's University Club course.

Thirty men's teams of the 81 invited into regional play will compete at Rich Harvest starting May 26. The Illini, winners of their past two tournaments, can advance to the finals by finishing in the top five in West Lafayette.

"Hopefully we're peaking at the right time," said coach Mike Small, "but we've got to play good in the regional first."

Another good omen for Illinois was junior Dylan Meyer's selection Wednesday as one of three finalists for the prestigious Ben Hogan Award. It goes to the nation's top amateur player, and Meyer enters regional play with victories in his past three tournaments.

Northwestern's men have a tougher road to Rich Harvest. Ranked ahead of the Wildcats at Baton Rouge were No. 1 seed and host LSU, defending national champion Oregon, Virginia and Duke.

Women's regional play starts Monday with Northwestern the No. 3 seed at Athens, Georgia, and Illinois No. 8 at Albuquerque, New Mexico. The women's finals at Rich Harvest start on May 19 and the men's finals begin on May 26.

Two other golfers with Illinois connections were invited to regional play as individuals on Thursday. Patrick Flavin, a Highland Park resident who attends Miami of Ohio, and Illinois State's Trent Wallace will battle for berths in the national finals at West Lafayette.

• For more golf news, visit lenziehmongolf.com. Len can be contacted by email at lenziehm@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZiehmLen and check out his posts at Facebook.com/lenziehmongolf.

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