Northwestern University Athletics
Tom Johnson Earns Individual Invite to NCAA Central Regional
5/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
May 10, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern senior Tom Johnson (Sacramento, Calif./Del Campo) has earned an at-large individual berth in this year's NCAA Central Regional, which will be held May 20-22 at Purdue University's Birck Boilermaker Golf Course in West Lafayette, Ind.
Northwestern's team, however, did not earn a regional invite, the first time since 1996 that the Wildcats are not a part of the team tournament. The Wildcats finished 10th of 14 teams at Michigan State's Fossum Invitational, and then seventh at last weekend's Big Ten Championships. Those two results -- which came against several key district foes -- ultimately kept Northwestern from making an eighth straight postseason appearance.
Johnson, who was named a second-team All-Big Ten selection on Sunday, led Northwestern in stroke average (73.58) for the third consecutive year. His career stroke average (72.68) is second on Northwestern's all-time list behind All-America Luke Donald, the 1999 NCAA national champion.
Johnson is one of five individuals to gain an at-large invitation to the Central Regional. The top 10 teams and top two individuals (who are not representing one of the 27 teams) will advance to the NCAA National Championships June 1-4 in Hot Springs, Va.
Joining Johnson at the NCAA Central Regional are Big Ten teams Minnesota, Ohio State, Illinois, Purdue and Indiana.
Additional information for the NCAA Central Regional can be found at Purdue Boilermakers or NCAA Championships.
