MOBILE, Ala. – A return to playing host to three home events and spring visits to a pair of tournaments at Southeastern Conference schools highlight the 2021-22 University of South Alabama men's golf announced on Monday.
"Like last year, not necessarily knowing how travel might play out, we decided to stay within the region for the fall. Fortunately, being located in the Southeast, you don't need to travel very far for solid, competitive fields," said Jaguar head coach Ben Hannan. "As we transition into the spring, we start by hosting the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate where we will have top teams from across the nation competing and the same set-up as we travel down in Placida, Fla., to play in a new event in late February.
"Our schedule is solid beginning with our first event as we will be tested all the way through the Sun Belt Conference Championship."
The Jags will open once again at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate, hosted by Louisiana Tech Sept. 12-14, after earning a runner-up finish at the event last year, and will also take part in UAB's Graeme McDowell Invitational scheduled to be held in Gadsden, Ala., on Sept. 27-28 the first month of the season. After two weeks off South will return to action at The Bentwater Intercollegiate, with Sam Houston State playing host to the event in Montgomery, Texas, with the Jaguars concluding the fall campaign with the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational in Loxley, Ala.
It will be the fifth edition of the tournament, which was not held in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"We can't wait to get back to Steelwood Country Club, they do a phenomenal job hosting an incredible tournament," Hannan said. "The event features another top-tier field with a national flavor including schools from multiple Power Five conferences. It's a great opportunity in our backyard to face some quality national competition."
USA will play in two home events in a row when it opens the spring segment of the schedule with the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate. Tournament participants scheduled to compete in the event — set for Feb. 14-15 at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course — include Florida State and Illinois, who finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the final GolfStat rankings last season after advancing to match play at the NCAA Championship, as well as NCAA Regional qualifiers UAB, Davidson and Kent State.
The Jaguars will next play at the Coral Creek Club Invitational, hosted by Florida Gulf Coast Feb. 28-March 1, before taking part in Auburn's Tiger Invitational on March 6-8. It will be nearly three weeks before South returns to action on March 27-29 when it serves as co-host with Eastern Michigan of the Craft Farms Intercollegiate at the Craft Farms Golf Club in Gulf Shores, Ala., while the regular season will conclude at Mississippi State's Mossy Oak Collegiate Championship April 11-12.
For the second year in a row, the Sun Belt Conference Championship will be held at the Mystic Creek Golf Club in El Dorado, Ark.; stroke-play competition will take place April 24-26, with the top four teams moving on to match play on April 27 to determine the event winner and the league's automatic qualifier for an NCAA Regional berth. Six different sites will host NCAA Regionals from May 16-18, with qualifiers advancing to the NCAA Championship — which will be held in Scottsdale, Ariz., For the second straight season — May 27-June 1.
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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