GULF SHORES, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's golf team will help play host to an event for the second time this semester when the Craft Farms Intercollegiate gets underway on Sunday.
The tournament — which the Jaguars are co-hosting with Eastern Michigan at the Craft Farms Golf Resort Cotton Creek Course — features three rounds in three days, with play teeing off at 7:50 a.m. (CDT) from the first and 10th holes on Sunday and Monday before Tuesday's action begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
Yannick Schütz, Jordan Plunkett, Kyle Robinson, Mathias Lorentzen and Jacob LeCroy are in South's lineup for the event, while Dawson Atkinson, Will Skipp, Eli Mitchell and Connor Reid will be competing individually.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Craft Farms Intercollegiate (Eastern Michigan/South Alabama)
Dates: 3/28-30 (Sunday-Tuesday)
Format: 18 holes Sunday, 18 holes Monday, 18 holes Tuesday
Start times: 7:50 a.m. (CDT) start from split tees Sunday and Monday, 8:30 a.m. shotgun start Tuesday
Course: Craft Farms Golf Resort Cotton Creek Course (par 72, 7,127 yds)
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=21476
THE FIELD (12)
Ball State, Cincinnati, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State, Lamar, Lipscomb, Louisiana, South Alabama, Southern Illinois, Texas State, Western Kentucky
THE JAGUAR LINEUP
-Yannick Schütz (R-Sr., Friolzheim, Germany; 15 rds, 71.33 avg, 3 T20s, 67 low 18, 209 low 54, 10 rds =/- par)
-Jordan Plunkett (Jr., Sterrett, Ala; 15 rds, 73.07 avg, 1 T20, 68 low 18, 215 low 54, 6 rds =/- par)
-Kyle Robinson (Sr., Fayetteville, Ark.; 15 rds, 74.73 avg, 1 T20, 70 low 18, 214 low 54, 5 rds =/- par)
-Mathias Lorentzen (Sr., Hvidovre, Denmark; 3 rds, 72.33 avg, 68 low 18, 217 low 54, 1 rd =/- par)
-Jacob LeCroy (So., Anniston, Ala.; 9 rds, 76.78 avg, 71 low 18, 227 low 54, 1 rd =/1 par)
-*Dawson Atkinson (Jr., Trussville, Ala.; 12 rds, 74.08 avg, 69 low 18, 218 low 54, 1 rd =/- par)
-*Will Skipp (Fr., Stockton-on-Tees, England; 9 rds, 76.89 avg, 71 low 18, 229 low 54, 1 rd =/- par)
-*Eli Mitchell (Fr., Meridian, Miss.; 12 rds, 74.58 avg, 70 low 18, 221 low 54, 3 rds =/- par)
-*Connor Reid (Jr., Opelika, Ala.; 3 rds, 78.00 avg, 76 low 18, 234 low 54)
*denotes competing as an individual
TEE SHOTS
-This will be the inaugural year of the tournament after the 2020 edition of the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
-It's the first time the Jaguars will be competing in Gulf Shores since hosting the USA Fall Beach Classic on Nov. 4-5, 2002.
-The Jags won the USA Fall Beach Classic in 1996, as well as the USA/Peninsula Fall Beach Classic each of the next two falls.
-This is the second event South will play host to after opening the spring season at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate.
-USA has shot par or better as a team in three of six rounds this semester after posting a 4-under-par 284 group score over the middle 18 holes at Auburn's Tiger Invitational last week.
-Schütz has shot par or better in 10 of 15 rounds this season, four more than anyone else on the team.
-Plunkett's four scores in the 60s — with three of those coming at the Jaguars' last three events — lead the squad.
-When the Jags hosted the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate to open the spring campaign, Robinson began the tournament with a season-low 2-under-par 70.
-Lorentzen made his debut at that event, tying for the team's low score in the final round with a 4-under-par 68.
-Last time out at the Tiger Invitational, LeCroy posted a season-best 1-under-par 71 in the second of three rounds.
-Atkinson has carded a 73 in three of his last four rounds dating back to the final day of the Little Rock Invitational on Oct. 20.
-Both Skipp (71) and Mitchell (72) recorded their low rounds of the spring at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate.
-Reid made his Jaguar debut at that tournament, with his best 18-hole score of the event coming on the final day of play.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On having the entire team competing at the event: "We're fortunate to be hosting an event with Eastern Michigan that is close enough where we have the ability to play everybody. Just getting reps this year is a bonus, so the ability to see everybody at the same time under the same conditions in a tournament setting will certainly be beneficial as we move forward in preparing for postseason play."
On what he wants to see from the team this week: "We are trending the right way, we've only had the opportunity to play twice this spring but the guys are getting better at home and their stats are improving, we are starting to see under-par rounds from different individuals during competition as well as in qualifying. This week we'd like to see production from everybody, we have nine guys playing so we would like for everyone to compete and contribute. It's about continuing the trend line and the process, and building on what we do every day at home."
On the approach to playing the course for the first time in competition: "It's a good golf course, certainly weather will play a factor being located as close as it is to the beach; if the wind blows, it changes the golf course and makes it more difficult. With the amount of rain we've had this week due to the large system that blew through it will play longer, but the course is in good shape and the greens are always great over there. Hopefully we can dodge the rain the rest of the week and the course can drain and dry up. Either way, these guys normally play under adverse conditions so they will be ready."
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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