April 28, 2008

Miami Gardens, Fla - The #24 St. Thomas University Golf team waited until the right moment to make their first appearance in the NAIA top 25 national golf rankings.

The final rankings will be released May 2 and if the Bobcats are still in the top 25 they will earn a trip to the 57th Annual Men's Golf National Championships May 13-16 at the Indiana National Golf Club in Plymouth, Indiana.

The tournament will be a 72-hole tournament begining with a long drive competition May 12. The field will be cut to top 17 teams and 40 individuals (including ties) after 54 holes. Field size will be a maximum of 144 golfers, including team champions, regional medalists, returning All-Tournament team players, and at-large team berths.

The team champions from each of the 13 region tournaments qualify automatically. Individual medalists from each region tournament and returning 2007 All-Tournament team honorees (Top 15 plus ties) that do not qualify on a team also qualify. After automatic qualifiers are determined, at-large berths are awarded based on the final top 25 rating up to the maximum of 144 golfers (no partial at-large berths will be awarded).

The season high ranking comes about two weeks after the Bobcats captured their first Florida Sun Conference championship since 1998 and finished second in the NAIA Region XIV tournament. Other FSC teams found in the April 25 NAIA top 25 include #18 Webber International University and #20 Savannah College of Art and Design.