Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort to Host Sun Belt 2016 Women’s Golf Championship
9/10/2015 10:00:17 AM | Women's Golf
NEW ORLEANS – For the first time since 2013 the Sun Belt Conference men's and women's golf teams will be competing at the same course. The 2016 Sun Belt Men's and Women's Golf Championships will both be contested at the prestigious Raven Golf Club at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.
The men's and women's teams last competed together at The Fighting Joe course, a Robert Trent Jones design in Muscle Shoals, Ala.
Last October the Sun Belt signed an agreement with the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort to host the men's championship at the Raven Golf Club for four years, with three years remaining at the resort.
The 2016 Sun Belt Women's Golf Championship will be contested at the Raven from Sunday, April 17 through Tuesday, April 19 with Saturday, April 16 serving as a practice round for the teams. The 2016 Sun Belt Men's Golf Championship will be contested the following week from Sunday, April 24 through Tuesday, April 26 with Saturday, April 23 serving as the men's practice round.
"We are excited to have our women's golf student-athletes join our men's golf student-athletes for back-to-back weeks of Championship golf and the opportunity to play at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The Emerald Coast is home to some of the finest golf in the country and we are looking forward to another great event," said Sun Belt Commissioner Karl Benson.
"Adding the Sun Belt women's golf championships will make for two great weeks of collegiate competition at Sandestin," said Rick Hileman, director of golf at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. "After last year, we knew the men's teams and the Sun Belt were absolutely thrilled with the course conditions and play on the Raven (course).This simply adds to our history of producing quality and competitive golf events at Sandestin. We appreciate the commitment of the Sun Belt to bring both golf championships to our facility."
Georgia Southern claimed the 2015 Sun Belt men's golf title at the Raven. Troy has won back-to-back women's golf championships.
The Raven Golf Club is a Robert Trent Jones, Jr. designed layout carved through the marshes and tall pine trees of Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. The 6,900-yard, par 71 course is no stranger to hosting major golf events. In the past, the Raven has hosted the Boeing Championship, a stop on the PGA Champions Tour, in 2006 and 2007. It has also played host to the 2013 NCAA Division III National Golf Championship. Voted "Best new Course in Florida," in 2000, the Raven has garnered numerous golf awards over the years from major national golf publications like Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. It is currently listed as one of the "Best Courses You Can Play" by Golfweek.
The 2015 Sun Belt Conference Men's and Women's Golf Championships will feature 55 players from the 11 men's teams and the nine women's teams. They will compete over three-days and 54 holes at the award-winning Raven Golf Club. The team champion will earn the conference's automatic selection into the NCAA Championship.
For more information on the Raven Golf Club at Sandestin and the three other courses at the #1 Resort on Florida's Emerald Coast, visit Sandestin.com, or call 1-866-91-BEACH.
About Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort
Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is a major destination for all seasons and all ages, and was named the #1 resort on Florida's Emerald Coast. The resort invites guests to a world of 2,400 acres and 30 charming neighborhoods featuring more than 1,250 Destin vacation rentals, condominiums, villas, town homes and the best in Destin hotel accommodations. As a member of Visit South Walton and Visit Florida, the resort features more than seven miles of beaches and pristine bay front, four championship golf courses, 15 world-class tennis courts, 19 swimming pools, a 113-slip marina, a fitness center and spa, meeting space and The Village of Baytowne Wharf, a charming pedestrian village with events, shopping, dining and nightlife. People are invited to download Sandestin's APP for iPhone and Android devices, or become a Facebook Fan or Twitter follower for the latest events and news.
About the Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference's "Together We Rise" motto isn't just hyperbole. It's proven fact on many different levels, not the least being its place in the hierarchy of collegiate athletics. As the league prepares to celebrate four decades since its founding in 1976, the Sun Belt occupies a "seat at the table" as a permanent part of the NCAA's 24-member Board of Directors. That alone insures that the conference has a voice in determining the future as college sports continues to change and evolve.
Opportunities for Sun Belt student-athletes to succeed both on and off the field have never been greater, and the Sun Belt is well positioned in the areas of scholarship, student welfare and academic success. During the 2014-15 academic year alone, Sun Belt member institutions awarded nearly $50 million in scholarship funds to over 3,084 student-athletes while also contributing over $2 million from the Student Assistance Fund (SAF) to over 1,779 student-athletes.
The Sun Belt Conference's membership consists of 11 football members – Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Idaho, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, New Mexico State, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy. Little Rock and UT Arlington compete in all-sports as non-football members while Idaho and New Mexico State are football only members.
