The Ohio State men’s golf team will try to qualify for the national championship this weekend at the NCAA Central Regional in Bowling Green, Ky.

If the Buckeyes want to continue playing this season, they must finish in the top five to continue on to the NCAA Championships.

Senior Vaughn Snyder at the OSU quad match on April 4th at the OSU Scarlet course. Photo by Andy Gottesman.ANDY GOTTESMAN/THE LANTERNSenior Vaughn Snyder at the OSU quad match on April 4th at the OSU Scarlet course.
The Buckeyes’ last outing at the Big Ten Championship started well, but ended poorly, as OSU dropped a round two lead and finished fourth. Coach Jim Brown liked what he saw early, but wants to make sure the collapse at the Big Ten won’t repeat this weekend.

“It gave us confidence, but what we didn’t like was how we finished,” Brown said. “Hopefully we learned from that experience. We’ve got to take one hole at a time, one shot at a time and play the best we can without making mistakes.

“In a field like this, one mistake means a lot, it could be the difference between going and not going.”

Although this weekend’s regional has higher stakes then other tournaments, Brown said his team’s mentality won’t need to change, considering the intense schedule the team has played.

Last season, OSU qualified for the NCAA Regional at its home Scarlet Course. OSU’s five players were all new to the regional atmosphere. Sophomore Bo Hoag, who was recently named First Team All-Big Ten, says his team will be better prepared the second time around.

“Last year when we went to regional’s, we had five guys who had never played in a regional before,” Hoag said. “We had five rookies who didn’t know what to expect, but we learned from that and we know what to expect now from the atmosphere.”

OSU, who ranks 50th in the latest Golfweek rankings, will be competing as the No. 9 seed in Kentucky. No. 4-ranked Washington is the top seed this weekend, with No. 7 Georgia Tech seeded second. The 14-team field is the most daunting competition the Buckeyes have faced in any event this season.

Although they are seeded ninth, Brown said OSU is capable of finishing fifth or higher.

“We have played some good teams along the way that will be there,” Brown said. “Mississippi and Duke are ahead of us, and we have beaten both of them this year. We have played a lot of good teams that are there, but the top two or three are very good teams. On any given day, I know our team’s potential and if we play at our potential we should do fairly well.”

Play will begin on Thursday, with round three finishing on Saturday. If they qualify for the NCAA Championship, the Buckeyes will play at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

Doug Dilillo can be reached at [email protected].