LOXLEY, Ala. – For the last eight years, the University of South Alabama men's golf program has played host to a spring tournament. Prior to the first edition of what is now the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate, the Jaguars conducted a fall event on seven occasions going back to the 2001-02 campaign. None of those tournaments were held at the Steelwood Country Club.
That will change on Saturday when play begins in the inaugural Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, which the Jags will play host to over the weekend. The field includes 11 teams, featuring a pair among the top 50 in the most recent Golfstat.com ratings released earlier in the week.
Although the Jaguars have not been host to an event at the venue, South head coach Alex Hamilton is looking forward to the opportunity.
"To me the best thing is that the grass, the golf course and the environment are similar, we were able to practice yesterday and do some things logistically to help our kids hopefully feel comfortable," he said. "We are looking forward to playing at a great golf course that supports not just our program but the university as a whole; we hope to continue this relationship and build on all that has been done by Steelwood Country Club and South Alabama."
The tournament format — with the course set up to play at par 72 over 7,096 yards — features a shotgun start at 8 a.m. (CDT) on the opening day, with 36 holes scheduled. Sunday's final round will tee off from the first and 10th holes at 8:30 a.m., with live scoring available at www.golftstat.com all weekend.
In addition to the Jaguars, also competing will be Cincinnati, DePaul, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, Lamar, Rice, Richmond, South Florida, Southern Mississippi and Western Kentucky. KSU is 31st nationally while UK stands 42nd in this week's rankings.
This will mark the first time USA has played in an event in nearly three weeks after recording a season-best fourth-place finish Oct. 8-9 at Louisiana State's David Toms Intercollegiate.
"I think it was a good break for our guys, it gave us a chance to sit back and analyze what was done during the fall season up to that point. We still have another chance to compete and get better this fall before we hang it up for the winter break," observed Hamilton. "We worked on refining some wedge play and have been trying to take better care of some things mentally, hopefully we can go out this weekend and play the golf that we are capable of."
While Peter Staalbo paces the squad with a 72.27 scoring average, four top-20 finishes and five rounds of par or better this season, Rasmus Karlsson led the Jags at LSU after tying for seventh place in the individual standings with a 221 54-hole total. Staalbo was one stroke behind, and Jason Mendel added his first top-20 result of the fall after coming in a tie for 19th following an even-par 72 in the final round. Karlsson begins the tournament with a 73.91 stroke average, having placed among the top 10 in two of four events his first year at the collegiate level, while Mendel has a 75.88 figure and has participated in the last three tournaments.
Yannick Schütz and Brooks Rabren will round out the USA line-up. The former competed at each of the first three events this semester and has a 76.00 scoring average, with the latter making his season debut. Rabren played 24 rounds as a freshman a year ago, posting a 75.58 stroke average and seven scores at or below par.
A pair of Jaguars — Sylas Elliott and Drew Cooke — will be participating as individuals in the last tournament of the fall. Elliott has shot par or better in three of 11 rounds thus far this season, recording a 74.18 average with his best finish a 10th-place result at the Bridgestone Match Play, where he would go on to win his semifinal match on the second day of the event. Cooke began the year with a pair of sub-par rounds at The Invitational at the Ocean Course last month, and will enter the competition with a 76.13 scoring average.
After the conclusion of the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, the Jags will not officially compete again for the next three-plus months. Hamilton would like to see his team perform well in its last opportunity of the fall for several reasons.
"Obviously it would mean a lot to play well, both because we are playing at home and also because I think it's a tournament with a solid field," he said. "We have a chance to continue building on the momentum from the LSU event and carry that forward as well. If we can play well, I think it will help tie up a bow on a relatively successful fall and hopefully point toward a very successful spring."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
—USA—
