May 17, 2006

CHARDON, Ohio - Lamar University, who captured the 2006 Southland Conference men's golf championship, will be making is sixth straight appearance at the NCAA Central Regional as No. 11-seed, which will be hosted by Cleveland State University at Sand Ridge Golf Club.

The Cardinals posted a school-best 12th place finish at last year's NCAA Central Regional at Warren Golf Club in South Bend, Ind., missing by one-stroke a chance to advance to the NCAA Championships. This will be the seventh NCAA Regional appearance in school history. Lamar's best-ever finish was a seventh place showing at the 1986 NCAA Championships.

Each of the three NCAA Regionals consists of 27 teams and six individuals not on one of those teams. All three regionals will be contested May 18-20 and will consist of 54 holes, 18 each day. The top 10 teams and two individuals not on an advancing team will advance to the NCAA Championships May 31-June 3 at Crosswater Golf Club at Sunriver Resort in Sunriver, Ore.

Lamar is one of nine teams from Texas participating in NCAA regional tournaments. Joining the Cardinals at the NCAA Central Regional is Texas A&M, who is the No. 3-seed, Texas (No. 6), TCU (No. 14), SMU (No. 16) and fellow SLC member Texas-Arlington (No. 18). Texas Tech is the No. 7-seed at the NCAA East Regional at Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando, Fla. Baylor is the No. 5-seed at the NCAA West Regional at Tucson National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz., and the University of Houston is the No. 13-seed.

Sophomore Casey Clendenon has been Lamar's top player this spring. He is second on the team with a 72.30 spring scoring average and is coming off a second-place showing at the SLC Championships with a 54-hole score of 3-under par 214.

A native of Katy, Clendenon was named SLC Player of the Year and first-team All-SLC. He has finished in the Top 10 in six of eight tournaments this spring. He has posted rounds of par or better in 11 of 23 rounds, including five in the 60s.

Freshman Oliver Bekker leads the team with a 72.07 spring scoring average over 14 rounds. He won medalist honors at the Bridgestone Intercollegiate hosted by UNC-Greensboro and at the St. Mary's College/Merrill Lynch Invitational. He has shot par or better in eight of 14 rounds, including three in the 60s. He was named SLC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-SLC.

Junior Dusty Smith is third on the team with a 73.04 spring scoring average and was named first-team All-SLC. He tied for seventh place at the SLC Championships at 3-over 219. He has posted Top 10 finishes in seven of 13 tournaments this year.

A native of The Woodlands, Smith has shot par or better in 11 of 23 rounds this spring, including three in the 60s. He has a 73.32 season scoring average over 38 rounds. Smith tied for 30th at the 2005 NCAA Central Regional with a 54-hole score of 7-over par 217.

Sophomore Dawie Van Der Walt was the team's top player in the fall, posting a blistering 71.40 scoring average. He won medalist honors at the Del Walker Intercollegiate with a 9-under 204. He posted a 73.35 spring scoring average over 23 rounds. He shot par or better in 11 of 15 rounds, including five in the 60s.

A first-team All-SLC selection, Van Der Walt has posted Top 10 finishes in six of 13 events this season. He has a 72.58 season scoring average over 38 rounds. He was Lamar's top finisher at the 2005 NCAA Central Regional with a 54-hole score of 3-over par 213. After opening with a 77, he fired a 3-under 67 and closed with a 1-under 69 to tie for 14th place.

Freshmen Justin Harding and Andrew Landry have both played exceptionally well for the Cardinals this season. Harding, who was named third-team All-SLC, won medalist honors twice this season. He tied for first at the Baylor Invitational in the fall at 5-under 211 and tied for medalist honors at the Xavier/Orange County National Invitational at 8-under 208.

A native of Cape Town, South Africa, Harding is fifth on the team with a 73.69 season scoring average. He has posted four Top 5 finishes this season. He has shot par or better in 14 of 36 rounds this season.

A native of Groves, Landry shared medalist honors with Harding at the Xavier/Orange County National Invitational at 8-under 208. He has shot par or better in nine of 32 rounds this season, including four in the 60s. He has a 73.81 season scoring average.