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Las Vegas, NV -  Adding irony to a tradition of fierce cross-town rivalry, two golfers from UCLA surrendered their entry to the National Collegiate Golf Championship (NCGC) to two golfers from USC – who went on to win the NCGC title this past weekend at the Badlands Golf Course in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 

The two USC students then went on to the NCGC at Badlands Golf Course in Las Vegas, facing challenging competition from golfers representing universities from across the United States.  The win was not an easy one, as the field consisted of skilled golfers, each vying for the national Championship title. 

“This was a well-organized tournament,” said Ozawa, a junior at USC.  “Very prestigious, and the elite of the elite from around the country had qualified to compete.”

The USC team got off to a great start, hitting birdies on the first two holes.  The pair played consistently, following what Ralston thought was a solid scramble attack.

“At each hole, the first person played more conservatively.  Then the second guy would play more aggressively,” said Ralston.  This plan worked, even as the temperatures dropped and the wind picked up while the pair was on the back 9.

“I was just trying to do what I could, as many good shots as I could get out of myself,” said Ralston, a sophomore at USC.  When Ralston come down with the flu partway through the tournament, his teammate stepped in and stepped up the competition.

“Charles was coming down with the flu, so I was trying to keep us together, not put any extra pressure on him, and take care of my shots for him,” Ozawa said.

The day came down to the 18^th hole, where Ralston had a 310-yard drive to the edge of the fairway and stuck a wedge to 10 feet, and Ozawa drained the birdie putt to defeat University of Fairfield by 1 stroke. 

“I had no idea the tournament was going to be so close, but I had a good feeling after sticking that shot,” Ozawa said.  “After that, I figured whatever happened, happened.  We were lucky enough to come out on top.”

As the 2003 National Collegiate Golf Champions, Ralston and Ozawa received round trip tickets to Las Vegas on Southwest Airlines and a full package to defend their titles in the 2004 Championship, including three nights’ hotel stay and entry into the 2004 NCGC.  They will also be recognized at a Special Award Presentation being held Friday, December 12, 2003 at the USC Golf Practice Center.

A number of contests were held within the NCGC, golfers challenging themselves and their opponents not only for the national title but for other victories as well.  The Long Drive on the 9^th hole was won by Robert White of Illinois State, the Long Drive on 12 won by Brandon Coffey of Illinois State, and the Long Drive on 18 won by Charles Ralston of USC.  The CP on the 5^th hole was won by Rob Mikuliak of Fairfield University, and the CP on 8 was won by Robby White of Illinois State.  Trevor Ozawa of USC also won the “Guess Your Distance” challenge.

The sponsors for the 2003 NCGC added to the excitement with prizes and packages for participants and winners.  All airline travel was provided by Southwest Airlines, who also donated prizes given out at the course.  Cutter & Buck provided tournament golf shirts and other prizes, and almostGOLF Ball was the official campus practice ball of the NCGC.  American Hole in One provided signage and sponsored the Million Dollar Shootout held December 6, and American Golf provided prizes including foursomes of golf, 2-for-1 golfing, and range cards.  The final sponsor was Warrior Custom Golf who provided several types of customer clubs.

The second annual National Collegiate Golf Championships were played Sunday December 7 at Badlands Golf Course in Las Vegas, NV.  After qualifying through both Local and Regional Qualifying Tournaments, participants at the NCGC competed in teams of two in one of three divisions; as students, as staff/faculty, or as alumni/community members. 

A team representing the University of Southern Mississippi defeated a team from Pensacola Junior College to take the Southeast Regional, and Illinois State defeated Marquette in the Great Lakes Regional.  Golfers from Fairfield University who went on to place second at the NCGC first had to defeat at team from the University of Rhode Island to qualify for the national championship.  The South Central Regional was won by the University of Austin, and a UCLA team claimed the Western Regional, although they were unable to attend.  As mentioned, the winning team from USC played in their place after qualifying in a USC-UCLA golf challenge.

This year’s field was made up of over 600 golfers representing 40 different colleges and universities.  Proceeds from the tournament benefited the NIRSA Foundation, a non-profit organization.

The net results from the Championship are as follows:

As for Ralston and Ozawa, the USC golfers look forward to defending their title at the 2004 NCGC Tournament, also to be held in Las Vegas. 

 “The tournament was a lot of fun, and the people we met were great.  Next year we’re going to go out, have fun, and see what we can do.  We expect to see a lot more students interested and competing next year,” said Ralston.

Ozawa shares his teammate’s enthusiasm.  “I hope the tournament continues to grow and that more people get involved each year, so the competition continues to be the cream of the crop,” he said.

The Collegiate Golf Alliance (CGA) is proud to have organized and facilitated the second annual National Collegiate Golf Championships.  As the premier online golf events and registration company, the CGA currently serves the needs of over 1,400 colleges and universities across the United States. For more information, email info@cgagolflinks.com or visit www.cgagolflinks.com.

“Colleges and universities have had tremendous amounts of events but there is no one single event to bring together students, faculty and alumni to compete for their university.  Teaming with the NIRSA gives us a chance to take our golf programming to the next level,” stated CGA’s President and CEO Mike Munson.