The Master’s men’s golf team has been given the opportunity to go after the university’s third national championship of the year after being given an at-large berth for the NAIA National Championships to be played at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.

According to the NAIA press release, “Of the 29 teams in the event, 20 earned automatic qualification by either winning their conference championship, or by receiving a conference’s second automatic bid.”

That means the No. 12-ranked TMU is one of nine teams in the country that received an at-large bid.

“This was the goal we set at the beginning of the year,” said TMU Director of Golf Craig DeSpain. “Last year at conference we thought we played really well, and so I threw it out to the guys at the beginning of this year at a retreat and we set our goal of reaching this (national championship) tournament. And during this spring season, it has been great to see different guys contribute to the success of the team. So it’s a team win.”

The Mustangs will bring six players to play at TPC Deere Run, the site of the PGA Tour’s annual John Deer Classic. The six players making up the team’s post-season roster are Jonathan Larson, Jacob Janho, Seth Bishop, Simon Blackburn, Wes Opliger and Rye Winans. Of the six, five will play with the top four scores counting toward the team total. The lone alternate could substitute into the top five for any of the four rounds.

The Master’s is just two years removed from a Runner-Up finish in the NAIA National Championship, but were left out last season. For DeSpain the berth is sweet and points to the players on the team that matter the most in team golf.

“The three, four or five golfers are the players on the roster that win team golf tournaments,” DeSpain said. “And the three, four and five players on our team have been very competitive within our team. And that keeps everybody on the team sharp, and sometimes that’s hard because you are trying to find the person who is playing the best right now. But the neat part is we have six guys who can all jump in and play that role.”

First- and second-round pairings for the championship will be announced Monday, May 12, at NAIA.org.

For more information visit GoMustangs.com.