The Mid-American Conference men's golf championships is the conference championship tournament for men's golf in the Mid-American Conference, a Division I member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). All eight conference members qualify for the championship meet, which is played in stroke play format and held in three rounds over a three-day period in late April or early May. The winning team receives a regional berth to the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships. The tournament began in 1947 and is rotated to different courses each year, with the various conference members acting as host. Through the 2022 championship, Kent State has won the most conference titles with 28, followed by Ohio with 18.

History and format

The championship was organized in 1947, the first season of play for the conference after it had formed in late 1946. The initial championship, held in Detroit and won by the Wayne Tartans, had the original four conference members. For many years, the men's golf championship, along with the men's track and field championship and tennis championship, were rotated together amongst conference members as part of a two-day MAC "sports carnival" in late May.^[1] Beginning in 1973, the championship was held at two sites, with the opening rounds in one location and the concluding rounds at another.^[2] The location of the final rounds in one year would serve as the host for the opening rounds the following year. This format continued through 1978 and then returned to a single-site host in 1979.^[3]

The number of participating schools stood at nine in 2006 and was as high as 10 between 1977 and 1985 and again from 1998 through 2005. It was reduced to eight following the announcement in May 2020 that Akron was eliminating its men's golf team.^[4] Although the championship is no longer held in conjunction with the tennis and track and field championships, until 1993, the conference rotated the tournament to the home courses of each conference member. Since the 1994 championship, held at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, the championship has rotated to neutral-site courses in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. After three years at Firestone, the tournament was held for two years at Quail Hollow Country Club in Concord, Ohio, and then began a four-year run at The Medallion Club in Westerville, Ohio from 1999 through 2002. After the 2003 championship was held at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois, the tournament returned to The Medallion Club for two more years in 2004 and 2005. Since 2006, the tournament has been held at a different course each year in Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. The Medallion Club hosted again in 2007 and Rich Harvest Farms in 2012, while courses such as Virtues Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio, and Brickyard Crossing in Indianapolis have also hosted multiple times. Virtues Golf Club, previously known as Longaberger Golf Club, hosted for the fourth time in 2017, followed by Sycamore Hills Golf Club in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 2018, and Club Walden in Aurora, Ohio, in 2019.^[3]

The tournament has always used stroke play as its competition format, and was initially a two-round tournament through 1967, with a third round added in 1968. Since 1973 the tournament has been played over four rounds with few exceptions. The last tournament to include only three rounds was the 2012 championship, after the final round was canceled due to rain.^[5] The 2019 tournament was only two rounds after rain forced cancellation of the final two rounds. An individual conference champion is also determined by the tournament. If two or more golfers finish tied for medalist honors, they are all awarded. The exception for this was the 1980 and 1982 MAC Medalists where a playoff was held to break the tie. At the conclusion of the tournament, the MAC season awards are given out, including Coach of the Year, Golfer of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and the naming of All-MAC teams.^[3]

References

External links

• Official website