Men's Golf | 4/23/2016 11:34:00 AM

Live scoring | Pairings | Live video of 10th tee and 13th green
 

Tournament Name: Sun Belt Championship Host: Sun Belt Location: Destin, Fla. Dates: April 24-27 Course: Raven Golf Club Par: 71 (6,802 yards) Format: 54 holes (18 first three days), top four advance to match play Wednesday Tee Times: 7:30 a.m. CT tee times all four days Field: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Little Rock, UL Lafayette, ULM, South Alabama, UT Arlington, Texas State, Troy

DESTIN, Fla. – Having lost four seniors from last year's squad, Georgia Southern men's golf coach Carter Collins knew there would be growing pains this season. 

He just thought they would come in the fall. They did not as the Eagles got off to a hot start, won their first tournament and placed second in the next two outings. 

The Eagles have not been able to capture that same degree of success this spring, but they have proven what they are capable of this season. They know that four good days at next week's Sun Belt Championship will put them in position to reach the goal they set at the beginning of the year – a fourth-straight bid to the NCAA Regionals. 

"Our team chemistry has been great, and they have continued to work hard," Collins said. "We know that if we play our own game, we'll be fine. We can't get caught up in all the other stuff – what another team is doing or what your teammate is doing. If we can focus in our little bubble, we'll end up where we want to be. "

The Sun Belt Championship will be played at Raven Golf Club in Destin, Fla., April 24-27. It's a familiar course to all the teams in the tournament and one that holds fond memories for the Eagles, who won the title there last year. Georgia Southern also took second in the Sun Belt Preview at the Raven Course in the fall. 

Steven Fisk, Henry Mabbett, Archer Price, Cody O'Toole and Jonas Vaisanen will be in the lineup. Price is the lone student-athlete who was in the lineup for last year's Sun Belt Championship, but all five played in the Sun Belt Preview. Fisk tied for seventh, and O'Toole placed 13th.

Collins said the par 5s are not really reachable so the Eagles will need to make sure that their second shot puts them in a good position with a good angle to attack the pin. The par 3s are extremely difficult with water on three of the five, and Collins said some of them do not have a "miss" on them.

"Course management on the par 5s, good execution on the par 3s and take advantage of the par 4s are the three keys for this week," he said. "We've been working hard on our long irons and short irons."

Since their last tournament April 12, the Eagles have also been spending more time in a competitive atmosphere on the course instead of spending as much time practicing. 

"We've been playing more," Collins said. "We've been competing a lot more on the golf course and competing against each other more than we have been, and that's showing good dividends so far."

Following a vote by the league's coaches, the Sun Belt added a new wrinkle to this year's championship. After 54 holes of stroke play on the first three days, the top four teams will advance to match play. The top seed will take on the fourth seed, and No. 2 will meet No. 3 in a morning session Wednesday with the winners squaring off in the afternoon. 

The winner of the final match will be the team champion and earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional. Though the Eagles have been competing against each other in match play to prepare for the new format, Collins said it will not change their mindset.

"We just need to concentrate on being the best team this week," he said. "It doesn't matter how many hurdles are in front of us. If we're the best team there, it will show at the end of the week."

Georgia Southern will tee off hole 1 at 8:15 a.m. CT Sunday, and the Eagles are paired with Troy and Georgia State.

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