OPELIKA, Ala. – Coming off a four-week break following its first event of the spring season, the University of South Alabama men's golf team returns to action Monday when play gets underway at the Tiger Invitational hosted by Auburn.

The tournament format will include 18 holes each day beginning from split tees at 8 a.m. (CDT) at the Grand National Lake Course.

The Jaguars' lineup will include Yannick Schütz, Jordan Plunkett, Kyle Robinson, Jacob LeCroy and Will Skipp.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner (Auburn)
Dates: 3/15-17 (Monday-Wednesday)
Format: 18 holes Monday, 18 holes Tuesday, 18 holes Wednesday
Start times: 8 a.m. (CDT) start from split tees all three days
Course: Grand National Lake Course (par 72, 7,289 yds)
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=20890

THE FIELD (17)
Alabama, UAB, #21 Arkansas, #23 Arkansas State, #16 Auburn, Auburn 'B', #15 Florida, #13 Georgia, Georgia Southern, #24 LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Alabama, South Carolina, #20 Tennessee, #6 Texas A&M, #14 Vanderbilt

THE JAGUAR LINEUP
-Yannick Schütz (R-Sr., Friolzheim, Germany; 12 rds, 71.25 avg, 3 T20s, 67 low 18, 209 low 54, 8 rds =/- par)
-Jordan Plunkett (Jr., Sterrett, Ala; 12 rds, 73.00 avg, 1 T20, 68 low 18, 215 low 54, 4 rds =/- par)
-Kyle Robinson (Sr., Fayetteville, Ark.; 12 rds, 74.75 avg, 1 T20, 70 low 18, 214 low 54, 5 rds =/- par)
-Jacob LeCroy (So., Anniston, Ala.; 6 rds, 76.33 avg, 74 low 18, 227 low 54)
-Will Skipp (Fr., Stockton-on-Tees, England; 6 rds, 76.50 avg, 71 low 18, 229 low 54, 1 rd =/- par)

TEE SHOTS
-Not only does the field this week include nine top-25 teams, three other participants are among the top 50 in the Golfstat.com ratings released on Wednesday.
-The Jaguars have participated in the tournament each of the last eight years, posting three top-five finishes in that time.
-South tied for sixth in a field of 20 teams at last year's event, its last before the remainder of the schedule was canceled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
-The Jaguars moved up nine spots in the team standings over the final two days of the event after shooting par or better as a group in each of the last two rounds.
-Schütz was one of two Jags to place in the top 20 individually at the tournament a year ago after posting scores of 68 and 71 over the final 36 holes.
-Plunkett is the only other member of the lineup this week who participated in the event last spring, as he also broke par in the final round.
-At the 2019 edition of the tournament, Robinson led the team with a 218 54-hole score that included a 1-under-par 71 in both the first and last rounds on the way to a top-20 finish.
-LeCroy is in the Jaguars' lineup for the first time since South played at the Graeme McDowell Invitational on Sept. 29-30.
-Skipp — who is in the lineup for the second time in the Jags' last three tournaments — carded a career-low 1-under-par 71 in his last round at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate while competing on USA's 'B' team.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On preparing for the field the team will play against this week: "We just need to focus on ourselves and commit to the process — which is what we preach all the time — to make sure we're trending the right way.  If every man can do that, the results will take care of themselves.  We've seen positive signs out of the guys the last few weeks and we want to continue to build on that to meet our goal of playing the best golf we can be playing by the end of April."
On what the team has worked on with a lengthy break between events: "Practice has been a culmination of playing and a lot of short-game work with a focus on scoring inside 110 yards.  We've tried to use our facility to get a little more consistent with vanilla up-and-downs, finding the right wedge distances for scoring opportunities and putting, that's where we've been putting a lot of our time."
On what the team can take from previous years at Auburn's tournament: "This is a championship venue, they have hosted a PGA Tour event out there so we know it will be in great shape.  The setup will be difficult with really good pin locations, on this course there is a lot of trouble both off the tee and on second shots into greens; you have to pick and choose wisely, hopefully knowledge from previous years will help us in that aspect.  Weather will dictate the circumstances, it looks like we might have some rain and if the wind starts to blow out there that course can play very difficult.  We'll see what the weather brings and look to have a game plan based on the circumstances.  In the end you need to execute, but from a decision standpoint we need to not beat ourselves by pressing and forcing things.  Simply put, you can't force good golf."

Photo provided by bradpuckettphotography.com

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

Join the Birdie Club — the men's golf specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Birdie Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's golf program. For more information on how you can join visit:  jaguarathleticfund.com/birdieclub.

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