FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Methodist University announced that it has been selected as the host institution for the 2009 NCAA Division III Men’s and Women’s Golf Championships.
The four-day event will be held May 13-16 at the PGA Village in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
The women’s championship invites 21 teams and the top six individuals not participating with their team for 111 total participants. The men’s championship will feature 36 teams, along with the top five individuals not participating with their team for a total of 185 competitors.
Methodist previously hosted the Division III national championships in 1994 (men, King’s Grant, Fayetteville, N.C.) and 2005 (women, Pine Needles, Pinehurst, N.C.) and the university is honored to be the first to host both at the same location. "We are honored that the NCAA has selected MU to host both the men's and women's NCAA Division III National Championships at the PGA Village,” said Bob McEvoy, Methodist University’s director of athletics. “Together with the NCAA, the PGA Village, our coaches and other staff members, we will make the 2009 Championships an outstanding and memorable experience for the participating institutions and selected student-athletes."
The Monarch women are coming off of their 11th consecutive National Championship, winning at Centennial Oaks Golf Club in Waverly, Iowa. The women have accumulated 21championships in 23 years and are primed to continue their run this May. “It is an honor to earn the bid to host the NCAA National Championships,” stated women’s head coach Vici Pate.
MU men’s head coach Steve Conley led the men to a fourth place finish at the 2008 National Championship and boasts nine national titles in the last 14 years. “We are invested in the Championship,” Conley said. “We want to create an atmosphere and an experience that all of the student-athletes will enjoy and remember for the rest of their lives.”
Port St. Lucie, a city of 166,000 on Florida’s Atlantic coast, is the perfect location for such a significant event. Ranked No. 30 in GolfWorld’s inaugural “Reader’s Choice Award Top 50 Golf Courses,” the Village features 54 holes of golf designed by Tom Fazio and Pete Dye. “PGA Village provides a historical backdrop that showcases the legendary timeline in the game of golf,” Pate added. “The status of Division III golf has elevated to a point where we feel the experience of the National Championship should match the accomplishment of getting there. PGA Village provides this opportunity.”
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