NAIA visits Dalhousie for regional tournament

~ The two-day, nine-team tournament begins today.

If the weather allows, nine teams will tee off today in the NAIA Region V golf tournament at Dalhousie Golf Club.

But in reality, it's a two-team race.

Missouri Baptist was ranked 10th in the most recent national poll, which was released mid-April, while Lindenwood University was No. 14. No other school in the region was on the radar.

"In the eight years since I've been here,Missouri Baptist and Lindenwood are the only two schools in the region to advance to nationals," said Lindenwood coach Roger Ellis, a former Cape Girardeau resident who is helping to organize the event. "Depth is what separates us from other teams in the region. The No. 5 players at Lindenwood or Missouri Baptist can put up a number just as well as the No. 1 player."

The teams will be chasing an automatic berth in the NAIA national tournament, scheduled for May 16 through 19 at Prairie Highlands Golf Course in Olathe, Kan. The runner-up will be hoping for an at-large bid, which the region has received the last few years.

Play is scheduled to include 36 holes today with a shotgun start for golfers from all nine teams at 8 a.m.

Players will be paired in teams for Tuesday's 18 holes -- the bottom three teams will send out players first, then the middle three teams, then the top three teams expected to out at around 9 a.m.

Spectators may attend. There is no admission charge but there also will be no carts allowed. Spectators, like the golfers, will have to walk.

The entire schedule is subject to rescheduling for the weather, where the goal would be to play as many holes as possible in nine-hole increments.

Joining St. Louis-area schools Missouri Baptist and Lindenwood are William Woods, Missouri Valley, William Jewell and McKendree -- teams Nos. 3 through 6 in the regional rankings -- along with Baker University, Culver-Stockton and Graceland. McKendree is in Illinois, Baker is in Kansas and Graceland is in Iowa; the rest are Missouri schools.

But no team will have a home-course advantage.

"This will be the first time playing here for a lot of these players, so that will be interesting," said Dalhousie general manager Andy Deiro, who said the course will play at about 6,800 yards. "It won't be set up too tough. The course can be as long as 7,300 yards from the back tees, but they'll be playing from between the blue and gold tees."

Ellis, a former member at Kimbeland and Cape Girardeau country clubs, has played the course and helped bring the regional to Dalhousie.

"I like it because there's no two holes alike," Ellis said. "Some courses you feel like you're walking the same ground over and over but at Dalhousie, every hole is a different picture. That makes it a challenge."

The challenge between Lindenwood and Missouri Baptist will be to settle a 2-2 split in meetings so far this year, including 1-1 in the spring season.

Missouri Baptist finished ahead of Lindenwood in mid-March in the Alabama Spring Classic, while the Lions topped Missouri Baptist by two strokes with a big second-day comeback April 17 and 18 at the Classic at Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis.

Missouri Baptist's Chris Naegel was the medalist at the Brickyard. Naegel, Danny Manselle and Erik Rios are the leading players for Missouri Baptist.

Lindenwood is led by Robin Vallis, Kyle Gray, Blaine Kruger and Brock Robillard.

"I doubt if we'll see any under-par rounds," Ellis said. "You'll see 72 to 75, 76. It's just a hard golf course."