UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State men's golf team has accepted an invitation to compete in the inaugural National Golf Invitational that is set for May 19-21 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Arizona.
Presented in partnership with Golfweek, the 2023 Men's National Golf Invitational will feature 13 college teams competing in a 54-hole stroke-play tournament with normal scoring of play five count four. The teams will begin the week with a practice round on May 18 followed by one 18-hole round per day from May 19-21.
The Nittany Lions are one of 13 teams competing in the field and will be joined by Arkansas State, Ball State, George Washington, Oral Roberts, Santa Clara, Stetson, Texas State, Troy, Utah Valley, Valparaiso, Washington State and Wyoming.
In May 2022, the NCAA announced it would allow schools to play in one season-ending event, similar to college basketball's NIT. By July 2022, the inaugural National Golf Invitational was created in a partnership between Golfweek and Ak-Chin Southern Dunes. A committee determined the invitation-only field using both the Golfweek/Sagarin and Golfstat rankings, while also considering teams who had strong regular seasons.
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes has played host to numerous major tournaments and events since opening in 2002, serving as an annual U.S. Open qualifying site, host site for the first stage of the PGA TOUR's Korn Ferry Tour Q-School, and several top collegiate men's and women's golf tournaments, including the Copper Cup, a two-day Ryder Cup-style event featuring in-state rivals the University of Arizona and Arizona State University men's golf teams.
Live scoring for the National Golf Invitational will be available via GolfStat.
