The members of the Stanford men’s golf team received some welcome news yesterday afternoon, when they learned they had earned the top seed in the upcoming NCAA West Regional, set to be held May 17-19 in Tempe, Ariz.

Coming off a mildly disappointing fourth-place finish at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships two weekends ago, the Cardinal will be looking to rebound when it heads south for the regional competition. The event will be played at the 7,024-yard Karsten Creek Golf Course, home of the No. 7-seeded Arizona State squad.

The Stanford men finished five under par at Pac-10s, trailing tournament champion Southern California (51 under par), UCLA (15 under par) and ASU (seven under par). But the Cardinal’s focus in Tempe will be on playing consistently, not on exacting revenge upon its Pac-10 rivals. The top-10 teams from each of the three regional tournaments will earn a spot in the 30-team field at NCAA Championships, so the Cardinal’s sole objective will be taking the next step toward the NCAA team title. The NCAA Championships are slated for May 30-June 2 in Williamsburg, Va.