Matt Hill--College Golf's Hottest Player

Hill captured his eighth NC State career title this past weekend by besting Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, British Columbia, a junior at the University of Washington, in the NCAA Central Regional Final in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Hill shot 4-under par (70-71-71--212), although his NC State team fell short in its bid for the NCAA Championships after finishing in a tie for sixth place at 21-over (296) and four-strokes out of fifth place, as only the top five teams from the regional advanced.

This sets the stage for a dramatic showdown between two of this year's most successful collegiate players in North America. Hill and Taylor, who has four victories with the UW this season, will tee off in the 112th NCAA Division 1 championship at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio May 26-30.

Taylor, also a member of Royal Canadian Golf Association's National Men's Amateur Team, carded his second straight runner-up finish at an NCAA regional, leading his team to a second place finish b y scoring an impressive 67-70-76--213 to finish 3-under par after three rounds. The 21-year old took a three-stroke lead to the par-3 13th, but fell behind Hill after making a quadruple-bogey seven.

Eugene Wong and his University of Oregon teammates also qualified for the NCAA Championships after finishing second at the NCAA's West Regionals. Wong, a North Vancouver, B.C. native who is also a member of Team Canada, finished 20th after finishing at 72-71-65--208.

In addition to Hill, Taylor and Wong, the following three Canadians will also compete at NCAA DI Championships:

WEST REGIONAL
T5. Brady Johnson, Mill Bay, BC, Brigham Young University 67-72-69--208

CENTRAL REGIONAL
34. Darren Wallace, Langley, BC, University of Washington 72-73-80--225
NORTHEAST REGIONAL
T30. Matt Hoffman, Ontario, University of Illinois 78-77-72--227