Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's men's golf team is set to compete in the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional starting Monday, May 13. The event will take place at the Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This marks the Spartans' seventh appearance in an NCAA Regional over the past nine years.

The Michigan State team enters as the 11th seed among 13 teams competing at this regional site. Nationwide, there are six regionals taking place with a total of 81 teams vying for spots in the NCAA Championships scheduled for Carlsbad, California. The top five teams from each regional will advance.

The Spartans are scheduled to tee off at 8:55 a.m., playing alongside Clemson and Ball State. Head Coach Casey Lubahn expressed enthusiasm about the opportunity, stating, "It's a great honor for our program to get the chance to play in an NCAA Regional and our guys are really looking forward to the opportunity to play against the best in the country."

The tournament format consists of stroke play over 54 holes across three days, with live scoring available via Golfstat.

Michigan State's lineup features Ashton McCulloch as their number one player. McCulloch has been recognized as an All-Big Ten Second Team selection and leads his team with a scoring average of 70.97. He has consistently finished as Michigan State's top performer throughout eight events this year.

Other key players include August Meekhof and Drew Hackett, both of whom have demonstrated strong performances throughout the season. Bradley Smithson rounds out a veteran group that has achieved several top finishes recently.

This year's competition takes place on a newly renovated Finley Golf Club course designed by Love Golf Design with Davis Love III involved in its development.

In recent history, Michigan State has shown consistent performance in NCAA Regionals, finishing seventh multiple times including last year's Bath Regional where they tied a program record during one round.

Coach Lubahn remains optimistic about his team's chances: "We've had a great spring season after a tough first couple of months and we hope that our best golf is right ahead of us."