MACKEY ADVANCES TO NCAA GOLF FINALS IN THRILLING FINISH

New Castle, DE (5/7/08)  Dominican College golfer, Brian Mackey, won the 2008 DII Men's East/Northeast Super Regional after finishing regulation tied with a golfer from the East Region and forcing a playoff hole.  This is the first time in Dominican College men's golf history that a player will be going to the NCAA Championships.

After a rough start in the final round, he double bogeyed the first hole on the back nine and followed with two straight bogeys.  He came back to par holes 13 and 14, but bogeyed hole 15, double bogeyed hole 16 and bogeyed hole 17.  He finished the back nine with a par on the 18th hole.

He stepped up in the front nine to par the first five holes, bogeyed the sixth and shot for par on the seventh and eighth which brought him to the final hole.

Mackey, a senior from Chestnut Ridge, NY, needed to shoot for par to tie with Jared Schmader of Clarion University, who had finished the East with a final score of 222 (+9) or a birdie to win.

Mackey's had nice first shot that put him on the fairway.  His second shot went left of the green and landed in a bunker.  His third shot got him out of the bunker, but past the hole to set up a tough final shot for par.  With a crowd of over 50 people watching, Mackey hit an amazing 75 foot put that sent the crowd into a frenzy of applause and forced the playoff hole.

"This is a great way to cap off my career," Mackey said.  "It was such an adrenaline rush after I hit that put that even I screamed."

Mackey teed off first on the playoff hole, a par four hole, and bogeyed the hole with a five shot finish.  Schmader triple bogeyed the hole for a seven hole finish to give Mackey the thrilling win.

Mackey advances to the NCAA DII Men's Golf Championships being held May 14-17 at the Division II Spring National Championships Festival in Houston, Texas.  The finals will be hosted by Rice University and the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority.

"Brian did everything he was suppose to win today," said Head Coach Wayne Mackey.  "He never quit and it was just meant to be."

Mackey finished the third round with an 80 to give him a three day total of 222 (+9).  He shot 73 on the first day, with four birdies, and a day best 69 on day two, with five birdies, including four straight on the front nine.

"I want to thank my family and friends that were here today to watch," Mackey said.  "I also want to thank the Dominican College Athletic Department for all their support and I hope to continue to represent the College in a positive manner at the Championships next week."