Georgia Southern Golf Opens Spring Season this Weekend
2/8/2013 7:19:39 PM | Men's Golf
VIDEO: Interview with coach Larry Mays | Live stats
STATESBORO, Ga. – Coming off a fall season which saw the Eagles win consecutive tournaments for the first time since 1982, the Georgia Southern golf team opens the spring season in a pair of tournaments this weekend.
In a somewhat rare circumstance, the entire roster will be in action with six players competing in the SunTrust Gator Invitational at the University of Florida Saturday and Sunday and four Eagles playing in the Savannah Quarters Individual in Savannah, Ga., Monday and Tuesday.
"It's a unique opportunity because it's the first time since I've been here that we'll have everybody playing under the pressure and microscope of tournament golf," said Georgia Southern coach Larry Mays. "We have a quick turnaround to our next tournament so this will help decide our lineup for next week."
Both tournaments are slated for 54 holes with 36 on the first day and 18 on the second.
Georgia Southern is very familiar with the Gator Invitational and the Mark Bostick Golf Course on the Campus of Florida as the Eagles have competed at the event for the last 12 seasons.
"We've played in this tournament every year since I've been here so it's the traditional spring start for the Eagles," said Mays.
The course is a par-70, 6,701-yard challenge. Mays said Georgia Southern graduate and current Florida head coach Buddy Alexander sets up the course to entice players to pin seek on almost every hole.
"It's a short course so players get enticed to go for it, but the greens are small and the pins are set up so that there is a fine line between a great shot and winding up at the bottom of a hill in thick Bermuda grass with a tough chip shot coming out," said Mays. "We'll have to stay patient and understand that par is a great score, and that if we all stay around par, we'll have a great week. We'll need to draw on our maturity to calculate risk and follow the game plan and understand that if we hit greens, we'll have birdie opportunities."
Scott Wolfes, Charlie Martin, Will Evans, Hayden Anderson, Blake Olson and Henry Mabbett will play in the Gator Invitational. Wolfes averaged 71.53 strokes a round in five tournaments in the fall. The sophomore won the Invitational at the Ocean Course and the Old Dominion/Outer Banks Intercollegiate and tied for second at the AutoTrader Collegiate Classic.
Martin averaged 73.47 strokes a round in five tournaments, recording two top-5 finishes. Anderson played in all five tournaments and averaged 73.43 strokes a round while recording two top-10 finishes. Classmate Will Evans averaged 75.08 strokes a round in four tournaments and recorded a pair of top-15 finishes.
Olson played in the first tournament of the season, the Invitational at the Ocean Course, where he struggled on the first two days before shooting a 78 on the third. Mabbett averaged 77.50 strokes a round in the first two tournaments of the fall.
Georgia Southern will co-host the Savannah Quarters Individual, which has a field of 45 players from Alabama, Florida State, Chattanooga, North Florida, Mercer, Liberty and South Carolina Beaufort in addition to Georgia Southern competing as individuals.
Matt Mierzejewski, Christian Humber, Caleb Morris and Drew Guffey (right) will play in the event. Mierzejewski averaged 75.89 strokes a round in three tournaments in the fall and played on both Eagle teams that won back-to-back tournaments. Humber averaged 75.33 strokes a round at the Mason Rudolph Championship, while Morris averaged 77.67 strokes a round in the first two tournaments of the season. Guffey, who played in two tournaments last season, makes his 2012-13 season debut for the Eagles.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS.
