Maricopa, Ariz. (May 8, 2025) – The National Golf Invitational is in full swing at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz. Presented in partnership with Golfweek, the 2025 National Golf Invitational features 10 women’s college golf teams competing in a 54-hole stroke-play tournament May 8-11, and 10 men’s college golf teams competing in a 54-hole tournament May 15-18. The postseason collegiate event is equivalent to the NIT in college basketball.
The 10-team field for the 2025 Women’s National Golf Invitational (May 8-11) includes:
- North Texas
- UNCW
- Mercer
- Santa Clara
- Rutgers
- UNCG
- Oral Roberts
- Seattle U.
- Eastern Michigan
- Bowling Green State
Teams competing in the 2025 Men’s National Golf Invitational (May 15-18) will include:
- George Mason
- Ohio State
- Oregon State
- Rhode Island
- Richmond
- Stetson
- Texas State
- Utah State
- Utah Valley
- West Virginia
“Entering the third year of hosting the NGIs at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, we feel we have established the events as a competitive, yet memorable experience for both coaches and players to continue their seasons into the post-season,” said Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club General Manager Brady Wilson. “It just continues to show our commitment as a facility in hosting premier championship level events and we are proud to be the ‘Madison Square Garden’ of college golf.”
In May 2022, the NCAA announced it would allow schools to play in one season-ending event, similar to college basketball’s NIT. By July 2022, the inaugural National Golf Invitational was created in a partnership between Golfweekand Ak-Chin Southern Dunes with Golfweek’s Lance Ringler serving as the Invitational’s tournament director. A committee determined the invitation-only field using both the Golfweek/Sagarin and Golfstat rankings, while also considering teams who had strong regular seasons.
“This event serves many purposes for college golf teams. Mid-major programs that have had very good years that have no chance of earning an at-large bid or miss out on winning their conference title that would get them an automatic bid now have a chance to play postseason golf. Or those power conference teams that have young squads that missed regionals and want to get a look a playing in May,” said Ringler.
In 2027, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club will be a host site for the Men’s Golf NCAA Regionals. The “Top 100 You Can Play” golf course will be one of six Regional sites in the U.S. with each site hosting 14 collegiate teams. The top five teams from each Regional will advance to the NCAA Championships to be held in 2027 at La Costa Resort and Spa in San Diego, Calif. Exact dates for the Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Regionals will be announced at a later date, but the tournament is expected to take place in mid-to-late May 2027.
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club was designed by Brian Curley and PGA TOUR veteran Fred Couples in 2002. Originally developed as a private club by private investors, the championship Australian Sandbelt-style golf course sits on 320 acres of land that was once a part of the Ak-Chin’s May 1912 reservation before it was removed by Presidential Executive Order in late 1912. Nearly 100 years later, in 2010, the Ak-Chin Community recovered its sacred land when it purchased the golf facility and opened the course to public play. The course currently boasts several coveted accolades, including being included on Golfweek’s coveted rankings of the “Top 100 Resort Courses” and “Best Courses You Can Play.”
For more information on Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, visit www.akchinsoutherndunes.com.
About The Ak-Chin Indian Community
The Ak-Chin Indian Community is nestled into the Santa Cruz Valley of Southern Arizona. The Community lies 35 miles south of Phoenix in the northwestern part of Pinal County. Ak-Chin is an O’odham word translated to mean “mouth of the wash” or “place where the wash loses itself in the sand or ground.” Ak-Chin has an enrollment of more than 1,100 tribal members and a land base of just over 22,000 acres. The Ak-Chin Indian Community has a variety of business enterprises including Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino, Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club, The Multi-tainment Center at Ak-Chin Circle and Santa Cruz Commerce Center. For more information, visit www.ak-chin.nsn.us.
About Troon
Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club is managed by Troon Golf, the resort and daily-fee division of Troon. Headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., Troon is the world’s largest golf and golf-related hospitality management company providing services at 940-plus locations in 45-plus states and 40-plus countries, including operational responsibility for 575-plus 18-hole equivalent golf courses. In addition to golf, Troon specializes in homeowner association management, private residence clubs, estate management and associated hospitality venues. Troon’s award-winning food and beverage division operates and manages 600-plus food and beverage operations located at golf resorts, private clubs, daily fee golf courses and recreational facilities. Troon’s family of brands includes Troon Golf, Troon Privé, Troon International, Indigo Sports, CADDIEMASTER, ClubUp, Cliff Drysdale Tennis, Peter Burwash International, True Club Solutions, RealFood Hospitality, Strategy and Design, Casa Verde Golf, ICON Management and Eventive Sports. For additional news and information, visit www.Troon.com.
Media Contact:
Rob Myers
Troon
480.477.0506
rmyers@troon.com