Alabama Golf Opens NCAA Play as #1 Seed at Auburn Regional

The Alabama men's golf team will stay close to home as it looks to defend its national championship. The Crimson Tide opens NCAA play as the top seed in the regional hosted by Auburn University.

"We are excited to get a top seed and stay close to home in the Auburn Regional," Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said. "Now that we know where we will be playing, it is time to focus on a challenging test of golf on the home course of one of our SEC rivals. Our team has lofty goals, and we have to get ready for the task that lies ahead."

The Golf Channel carried the 81-team tournament field announcement Monday morning. Alabama, which cruised to its third SEC Championship a week ago, will compete against 13 other teams at Auburn University Golf Club from May 15-17. Along with Alabama, Virginia Tech, Texas, and Auburn round out the top four seeds.

Take a look at which teams will compete in the six regionals:

The top five teams from each regional will advance to the NCAA Championships at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas from May 27 - June 1.

One year ago, Alabama finished third in stroke play before defeating New Mexico (4 & 1), Georgia Tech (4 & 1), and Illinois (4 & 1) in match play to win the school's first national championship. The Crimson Tide won 11-straight tournaments from 2013-14 before losing the SMU Querencia Cabo Collegiate by one stroke in March, but the team still won 7 out of 10 events this season.