Oct. 20, 2004
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –
The NCAA has announced that the 2008 Division I Women’s Golf Championships have been awarded to the University of New Mexico and will be played at The Championship Course. The event, scheduled for May 20-23, 2008, marks the fifth time that the NCAA Championships will be held in Albuquerque.
The UNM Championship Course, which was recently named one of the top 10 collegiate courses in the nation by Golfweek magazine, is no stranger to major tournaments. It was the site of the 1976, 1992 and 1998 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships as well as the 1991, 1995 and 2002 NCAA West Regionals. In 1987, the course hosted the NCAA Women’s Championships, and was also the site of the 1994 NCAA Women’s West Regional. The home course advantage helped the Lobos in 1987, as Caroline Keggi claimed UNM’s only individual national title in golf.
“This is really exciting for our program,” said New Mexico women’s golf coach Jackie Booth, who is in her eighth year at UNM. “This will definitely help in recruiting our future classes, knowing that they will be able to play the site of the NCAA Championships every day.”
The UNM Championship Course also hosted the 1987 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships. |
Booth has experience coaching and hosting the NCAA Championships. When she was the head coach at New Mexico State, the Aggies hosted the 1988 NCAA Championships in Las Cruces.
“It was a great experience at New Mexico State – they really rolled out the red carpet for the event, and I’m expecting the university and the city will do everything they can in making this a first-class event for all the participants from across the country,” Booth said. “It will be a lot of fun to have the biggest tournament of the season right in our back yard.”
The Championship Course has been home to the William H. Tucker Invitational for the past 34 years, as well as being home to three Western Athletic Conference Men’s Championships (1979, 1982, 1989). Beginning in 1979, it has also been home to the prestigious Dick McGuire Invitational, a major tournament in women’s collegiate golf.
Since it was offically opened in 1967, The Championship Golf Course has been one of the finest facilities of its kind nationwide. It has been nationally recognized by Golf Digest magazine as one of the top-25 public courses in the country, and in 1999 was named the top collegiate course open to non-members by the New England Financial Journal.
The Championship Course was recently ranked one of the top 10 collegiate courses in the country by Golfweek. |
Like most class layouts, the Championship Course flashes a personality all its own. The 6,069-yard, par 73 course for the women boasts fairways that stretch out long and wide, bobbing up and down, both right and left – all factors that make it difficult to reach the rolling, well-manicured greens. Stray shots often land in the rough, loose desert sand, water or sagebrush.
“It’s an honor for our course to be considered an NCAA site,” said Booth. “I always felt like it was one of the top collegiate courses in the country. When I’m recruiting, I know that if they can play well on our course, they can play well anywhere. The size of the greens and the length of the course presents an immense challenge for any player.”
While the UNM Championship Course is frequently in the national spotlight, the Lobo women’s golf program has also established itself as one of the top programs in the country. New Mexico has always been a national power – it owns 13 conference championships, 12 NCAA Championships appearances and 12 consecutive NCAA Regional appearances – but in the last five years, the program has risen to elite status. UNM has won four of the five Mountain West Conference championships and has won 10 tournament titles in the last three seasons. Last year, the Lobos provided the program with one of the most successful seasons in school history – they claimed four tournament victories, placed in the top 10 in 10 of their 11 tournaments, and again led the Mountain West with four all-conference honorees. The Lobos were ranked in the top 10 for 33 consecutive weeks, peaking at a lofty No. 3, and finished the season ranked No. 6 in the final Golfweek standings. This season, the Lobos are once again among the nation’s top teams, and are currently ranked 15th in the lastest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
Future NCAA Championships:
2005 – Sunriver Resort – Meadows Course – Sunriver, Ore. – Oregon State University
2006 – University Golf Club – Scarlet Course – Columbus, Ohio – Ohio State University
2007 – LPGA International Golf Course – Daytona Beach, Calif. – University of Central Florida and Central Florida Sports Commission
2008 – UNM Championship Course – Albuquerque, N.M. – University of New Mexico
Previous NCAA Events at UNM Championship Course:
1976 – Men’s NCAA Championships
1987 – Women’s NCAA Championships
1991 – Men’s NCAA West Regional
1992 – Men’s NCAA Championships
1994 – Women’s NCAA West Regional