The Georgia Southern golf team is hoping its up-and-down season will take a turn for the better beginning today when the Eagles host 17 of the best teams in the nation for this weekend’s 28th annual Schenkel E-Z-GO Invitational at Forest Heights Country Club.
“We’ve kind of had a rollercoaster season,” GSU coach Larry Mays said. “We’ve played some good rounds and some bad rounds, some good tournaments and some bad tournaments. So hopefully we are starting to round into shape and get a little more comfortable.”
Mays has seen encouraging signs, such as last weekend when the Eagles got off to a rocky start at Coastal Carolina’s General Jim Hackler Invitational but played a solid final round to leapfrog six spots and finish 10th.
“Hopefully it was a step in the right direction,” Mays said. “Hopefully this rollercoaster we are on will keep going up from this point till the end of the year.”
Georgia Southern also had a good showing at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., last month and at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate in Zionsville, Ind., in October. The Eagles’ starting five this weekend will be senior Bryan Jones, junior Chris Smith, sophomores Jordan Johnston, Ryan LeFevre and Drew Lethem.
“We are feeling good,” said Jones, who finished second at the Gator and in the top 25 last weekend. “We are coming off a fairly decent finish last week. We played well at the Gator but had a big hiccup. We’ve got to make sure we don’t do that again. We’ve got to try not to make any big mistakes. I think we’re prepared.”
This weekend, the Eagles will be up against some of the best teams in the country, including three of the nation’s top five clubs. Along with No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Alabama, the field will include seven teams ranked in the top 25 and 11 in the top 50 according to the latest GolfWeek polls.
Also competing will be defending champion No. 14 North Carolina, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 21 Minnesota, Arizona, Auburn, Michigan State, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina State, Louisiana State, Augusta State, Ohio State and New Mexico.
“We’re excited — we’ve got a great field coming in,” Mays said. “Year in and year out this is one of the strongest fields in the country, and I think this year is no different. Eighteen teams is the largest field we’ve had in quite some time. It’s going to be a good tournament, and we’re excited to have some of the best teams in the country here in our own backyard at Forest Heights Country Club.”
Thirty six holes of the 54-hole tournament will be played today beginning with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Sunday’s final round will start at 8 a.m. and be followed by an awards ceremony at approximately 3 p.m. Mays and Jones hope sleeping in their own beds and playing their home course will help the Eagles this weekend.
“We know the greens and the way they break more than anybody, so we’re really focusing on hitting to the center of the green and eliminating the big mistakes,” Jones said. “We have so many good visuals of good shots on this golf course. We can just take that, put it into our memory and visualize good shots. Hopefully, that’ll be an advantage for us.”
Mays has been talking a lot about focusing and not getting caught up in what could happen.
“Our biggest thing is we are a little young and are lacking a little bit of self confidence, if anything,” Mays said. “I think we’ve got all the talent to compete with some of the top teams in the country, but maybe the players themselves don’t necessarily believe that yet. They’ve got to believe in themselves before anybody else can. That’s what we are trying to preach to them.”
Several of the nation’s top ranked players will be competing this weekend, including No. 2 Billy Horschel (Florida), No. 4 Brian Prouty (Arizona), No. 5 Charlie Beljan (New Mexico), No. 6 Brian Harman (Georgia), No. 9 Chris Kirk (Georgia), No. 19 Brendon Todd (Georgia) and No. 22 Philip Pettitt (Tennessee), according to GolfWeek.
At the 2006 Schenkel E-Z-GO, Georgia Southern finished tied for 13th with a 26-over 890. North Carolina shot a 7-under 857 to edge Florida by two strokes and claim its first Schenkel title. Michigan State’s Matt Harmon took home the individual title, shooting a 9-under 207.
Georgia Southern hasn’t won its signature tournament but has placed in the top five 13 times and finished second in 2001. The Eagles have claimed two individual titles - Jimmy Ellis in 1973 and Richie Bryant in 1989. In 2005, former Eagle Jon David Kennedy tied for first but fell in a playoff.
“Getting off to a good start and getting that first round in is going to be huge for us at home in front of the home crowd,” Mays said. “In this strong of a field, if we can get out to a good start and get a good solid first run, I think we’ll run with it.”
Admission is free and open to the public, and fans can follow this weekend’s action online at www.golfstat.com.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
“We’ve kind of had a rollercoaster season,” GSU coach Larry Mays said. “We’ve played some good rounds and some bad rounds, some good tournaments and some bad tournaments. So hopefully we are starting to round into shape and get a little more comfortable.”
Mays has seen encouraging signs, such as last weekend when the Eagles got off to a rocky start at Coastal Carolina’s General Jim Hackler Invitational but played a solid final round to leapfrog six spots and finish 10th.
“Hopefully it was a step in the right direction,” Mays said. “Hopefully this rollercoaster we are on will keep going up from this point till the end of the year.”
Georgia Southern also had a good showing at the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., last month and at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate in Zionsville, Ind., in October. The Eagles’ starting five this weekend will be senior Bryan Jones, junior Chris Smith, sophomores Jordan Johnston, Ryan LeFevre and Drew Lethem.
“We are feeling good,” said Jones, who finished second at the Gator and in the top 25 last weekend. “We are coming off a fairly decent finish last week. We played well at the Gator but had a big hiccup. We’ve got to make sure we don’t do that again. We’ve got to try not to make any big mistakes. I think we’re prepared.”
This weekend, the Eagles will be up against some of the best teams in the country, including three of the nation’s top five clubs. Along with No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Alabama, the field will include seven teams ranked in the top 25 and 11 in the top 50 according to the latest GolfWeek polls.
Also competing will be defending champion No. 14 North Carolina, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 16 Texas A&M, No. 21 Minnesota, Arizona, Auburn, Michigan State, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina State, Louisiana State, Augusta State, Ohio State and New Mexico.
“We’re excited — we’ve got a great field coming in,” Mays said. “Year in and year out this is one of the strongest fields in the country, and I think this year is no different. Eighteen teams is the largest field we’ve had in quite some time. It’s going to be a good tournament, and we’re excited to have some of the best teams in the country here in our own backyard at Forest Heights Country Club.”
Thirty six holes of the 54-hole tournament will be played today beginning with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Sunday’s final round will start at 8 a.m. and be followed by an awards ceremony at approximately 3 p.m. Mays and Jones hope sleeping in their own beds and playing their home course will help the Eagles this weekend.
“We know the greens and the way they break more than anybody, so we’re really focusing on hitting to the center of the green and eliminating the big mistakes,” Jones said. “We have so many good visuals of good shots on this golf course. We can just take that, put it into our memory and visualize good shots. Hopefully, that’ll be an advantage for us.”
Mays has been talking a lot about focusing and not getting caught up in what could happen.
“Our biggest thing is we are a little young and are lacking a little bit of self confidence, if anything,” Mays said. “I think we’ve got all the talent to compete with some of the top teams in the country, but maybe the players themselves don’t necessarily believe that yet. They’ve got to believe in themselves before anybody else can. That’s what we are trying to preach to them.”
Several of the nation’s top ranked players will be competing this weekend, including No. 2 Billy Horschel (Florida), No. 4 Brian Prouty (Arizona), No. 5 Charlie Beljan (New Mexico), No. 6 Brian Harman (Georgia), No. 9 Chris Kirk (Georgia), No. 19 Brendon Todd (Georgia) and No. 22 Philip Pettitt (Tennessee), according to GolfWeek.
At the 2006 Schenkel E-Z-GO, Georgia Southern finished tied for 13th with a 26-over 890. North Carolina shot a 7-under 857 to edge Florida by two strokes and claim its first Schenkel title. Michigan State’s Matt Harmon took home the individual title, shooting a 9-under 207.
Georgia Southern hasn’t won its signature tournament but has placed in the top five 13 times and finished second in 2001. The Eagles have claimed two individual titles - Jimmy Ellis in 1973 and Richie Bryant in 1989. In 2005, former Eagle Jon David Kennedy tied for first but fell in a playoff.
“Getting off to a good start and getting that first round in is going to be huge for us at home in front of the home crowd,” Mays said. “In this strong of a field, if we can get out to a good start and get a good solid first run, I think we’ll run with it.”
Admission is free and open to the public, and fans can follow this weekend’s action online at www.golfstat.com.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
