JONESBORO, Ark. (5/3/23) – The Arkansas State men’s golf team will continue its season having accepted an invitation to play in the inaugural Golfweek National Golf Invitational (NGI) May 18-21 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona.

With the announcement of the NCAA Men’s Golf regional field announced earlier Wednesday, organizers including tournament director Lance Ringler of Golfweek are working to finalize the full 15-18 team field for this inaugural tournament. The 54-hole tournament follows the standard play five, count four score format with a team and individual champion.

“We’re excited to be selected for the inaugural NGI,” said A-State head coach Mike Hagen. “Our goal each year is to compete in the postseason and while the NCAA’s is the ultimate goal, this is a testament to the success of our season and where our program stands on a national level.  I’m sure Lance and the committee will run a first-class championship and we look forward to competing and having a chance to bring home one more trophy.”

Organizers view the NGI as akin to the NIT of college golf. Invitations are extended to those teams that did not secure automatic bids or earn at-large bids into the NCAA golf regional field. The NGI committee used a cumulative average of the Golfweek/Sagarin and Golfstat rankings, along with a committee decision on teams that have strong regular season performances and head-to-head records.

A-State, ranked No. 76 in the latest Golfweek rankings and No. 79 in the Golfstat rankings, finished sixth at the Sun Belt Conference championship to cap the season with a 92-40-3 record. The Red Wolves had a remarkable spring going 61-23-1 and finished with two tournament wins on the season. A-State has a 287.53 scoring average this season, second-best in program history, and posted 16 par or better rounds, second-most in a single-season in program history.

For the latest on A-State men’s golf, follow the team on Twitter (@AStateMGolf), Facebook (/AStateMGolf) and Instagram (@astatemensgolf).