AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Texas Golf Club, designed by Austin-based architect Roy Bechtol, will host the 2009 men's NCAA Austin Regional this weekend, and all involved feel the 7,412-yard, par-71 championship track will be up to the challenge of the best collegiate players.

Opened for play in 2003 and lengthened and renovated in 2007 to create just the setting for this and future tournaments, the UT Golf Club is located in the Texas Hill Country some 15 miles west of the University of Texas campus.

The course - which Bechtol designed in collaboration with former partner Randy Russell - overlooks Lake Austin and borders the Balcones Natural Wildlife Preserve, offering challenging shots and views that rival the best in Austin. The club is a first-class experience uniting superior golf and club amenities with the triumphant traditions embedded in the spirit of The University of Texas.

Bechtol has long been part of the University of Texas family - he played baseball for the Longhorns and his father Hub was the only consensus four-time football All-America as a receiver in the late 1940s. He said that being associated with the building of the UT Golf Club and the University of Texas on such a high-profile project as "a dream come true."

"The UT Golf Club is one of my favorite places, and it has been a very high honor to have been asked to design the course and its renovation," Bechtol said. "We feel that the course is a fair and challenging test of golf and creates the need to bring your whole game into play to be successful."

The Austin Regional will be held May 14-16 and is one of six such tournaments that will determine which teams play in the NCAA Men's Golf Championships. The other five sites are in Galloway, N.J.; Daly City, Calif.; Sorrento, Fla.; Bowling Green, Ky.; and Stillwater, Okla. Each tournament will welcome 12 teams and 10 individuals for their respective 54-hole event.

The University of Texas will be the fourth-seeded team in the Austin Regional, and Texas head coach John Fields is excited about having the first men's NCAA regional at UT Golf Club.

"The dream to have our own golf course at The University of Texas was presented to me when I first assumed my position here," Fields said. "The truth about The University of Texas Golf Club is it is absolutely a great course. People are now appreciating the course's strength and character, and - to that affect - we owe a lot to Roy Bechtol and Randy Russell for their design and expertise. We believe we have one of the best golf courses in the nation."

The UT Golf Club was the host for one of the 2008 women's NCAA regionals. Club and school officials are hoping that this men's regional will give them a leg up in their hot pursuit of hosting the 2012 NCAA Championships on the course.

The University of Texas has a long and distinguished group of heralded golf alumni, including Tom Kite, Ben Crenshaw, Mark Brooks, Justin Leonard, Harrison Frazar and Omar Uresti. Bechtol worked with each of those players and many others to assure the UT Golf Club would be great.

"Roy keeps the big picture in mind with how a course and community can live in harmony," said Steve Termeer, the UT Golf Club's general manager and director of golf. "Fortunately his ideas were similar in nature to those of our distinguished alumni and accomplished golfers, and as a result collectively the course has turned out to be a masterpiece."

About Bechtol Golf Design
Bechtol Golf Design's principal, Roy Bechtol has designed more than 50 golf courses throughout the United States either as the lead architect or as a collaborator with other top golf course designers. Bechtol Golf Design (www.bechtolgolfdesign.com) combines cutting-edge technology with creative, traditional design practices to determine the best possible plan for blending golf with real estate.

Upcoming projects include courses in the Colorado Rocky Mountains near Vail, on the west coast of Mexico, in the hills of western Virginia, in the Texas Hill Country along the upper banks of Lake Travis and on Mustang Island on the Texas coast, as well as various sites in Central Texas.

Bechtol Golf Design's completed projects, both individually and in conjunction with some of the world's top designers, include:

The Waterford Club (Smithwick, Texas)
The University of Texas Golf Club (Austin, Texas)
The Golf Club of Texas (San Antonio, Texas)
The Golf Club at Star Ranch (Hutto, Texas)
Black Bear Golf Club (Delhi, Louisiana)
ShadowGlen Golf Club (Manor, Texas)
The Ambush at Lajitas (Lajitas, Texas)
ConCan Country Club (North Uvalde County, Texas)
Great Hills Country Club (Austin, Texas)
El Paso Country Club (El Paso, Texas)
Diamondback Golf Academy (San Antonio, Texas)
The Golf Club at Circle C (Austin, Texas)
Vaquero (Dallas, Texas)
Barton Creek Resort (Austin, Texas)
The Hills of Lakeway (Lakeway, Texas)
Austin Country Club (Austin, Texas)
RiverPlace Country Club (Austin, Texas)
Gaillardia (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)

Media Contact:
Steve Habel
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