Men’s Golf Set To Open Spring Slate

LIVE STATS

The Troy University men's golf team will open the 2011 spring season on Monday in the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate at Magnolia Grove Crossings Golf Course.

The Trojans will be joined by 14 other teams in the tournament, which will include 36 holes on play on Monday as well as a final 18 holes on Tuesday. The Magnolia Grove course will play to a par of 72 at 7,212 yards.

“We are excited about this event,” Troy coach Matt Terry said. “It is a good field with a lot of conference schools. You have teams from the SEC, and a lot of top 100 teams. It will be a very good start to our spring season, especially coming off two good finishes in the fall.”

Troy will be joined in the event by teams from Akron, Arkansas State, Charlotte, Illinois State, Kentucky, UL Lafayette, Louisville, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, South Alabama, South Florida, Southern Mississippi and Vanderbilt.

The Trojans will go into the tournament with a different looking lineup from the fall. Seniors Reid Merritt (Slocomb, Ala.) and Chase Whitehead (Eufaula, Ala.) return after missing the fall season.

“I am sure they will be a little bit rusty, but we don't have a lot of time for them to shake off the rust,” Terry said. “We really missed their experience in the fall but it was good in some ways because we got some young guys in the lineup. Those guys need to be leaders for this team. It is their senior year and it is time for them to step up.”

The returning seniors will be joined by another senior, Zach Portemont (Andalusia, Ala.) as well as junior Ricky Casko (Cartersville, Ga.) and freshman Kyle Thommesen (Auburn, Ala.). The newest member of the team, freshman Nathan Kinch (Sydney, Australia) will play in his first U.S. tournament as an individual.

“We have been blessed with good weather and have not missed a day of practice,” Terry said. “I feel like that is really going to help. All of our guys have played well at times. Zach and Ricky have been working on some things and have shown flashes of really good play.

“We don't have time to have an off event or even an off round. We have to play well in every event. We have to handle the small things and we will be ok. It is a really good golf course at Magnolia Grove. It will be the first time we have been on it since they redesigned it.”

Live stats for the event will be updated every three or six holes throughout tournament and will be available at www.golfstat.com. Play will open on Monday with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.

Troy University Athletics

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