Troy University Athletics
Thursday, May 14
New Haven, Conn.
All Day
Troy University
vs
NCAA New Haven Regional
Players Mentioned
/ Golf (M)
/ Golf (M)
/ Golf (M)
/ Golf (M)
/ Golf (M)
Troy Men’s Golf Opens Regional Play Thursday
5/13/2015 6:58:00 PM | Golf (M)
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut – Following a 19-year absence, the Troy men's golf program makes its return to the national stage as the Trojans open play in the NCAA New Haven Regional Thursday at the Course at Yale.
Troy enters the Regional as the No. 10 seed after earning an at-large bid into the field of 81 teams. The top five teams from each of the six Regional sites plus the top individual not on one of those five teams will advance to the NCAA Championships.
"These guys have to go out there with the intent to be the low team each day and if they can do that they are going to put themselves in a pretty good position to move on and play for a national title," head coach Matt Terry said. "We're going to have to play smart. The course is not really bomber friendly. We are going to have to be on the fairway and on the greens and give ourselves chances for birdies and to take pars. I think par is probably going to be a good score. It is an old style golf course and the weather is going to be a little cooler."
The Troy lineup will have a slightly different look to it for Regional play as sophomore Clayton Vannoy will join Jared Bettcher, Luke Moser, Jake Tucker and Tolver Dozier on the course.
Each of the five adds a different dynamic to the Trojans chance at going low on the course. Bettcher has a pair of school record rounds on his resume this season as he shot a 7-under-par 65 twice over a three round span. Additionally, Bettcher shot a 6-under-par 66 last year and carries a team best 72.65 stroke average into Regional play.
Moser ranks second on the team with a 73.38 stroke average, but has been the Trojans most consistent player all season as 94.2 percent of his rounds have counted towards the team score. Moser has just three rounds under par on the year, but played 15 of his 26 rounds at 73 or lower.
Tucker has fired the most rounds under par on the year with nine rounds under the mark, including four rounds in the 60s. He will carry a 73.45 stroke average into the Regional and has been Troy's second-best closer with a 72.70 average in the final rounds of tournaments.
Despite playing just 17 rounds, Vannoy is tied for third on the team with six rounds under par. He has played courses to a tune of a 73.00 average in the spring and 73.82 overall thanks to a 68 and a pair of 69s.
Dozier turned in top-25 finish after top-25 finish as he ended the year with a team-best six finishes in the top 25 thanks to a 74.10 stroke average. Dozier tied Bettcher and Vannoy for third on the year with six rounds under par.
"We need to get off to a steady start," Terry said. "Put it in the fairway and on the green and make pars. If we throw a few birdies in early that's great, but the biggest thing will be staying in the game. We need to have all five guys still in the mix all day so we don't have anybody going high where the other four guys feel any pressure that it's all on them."
The Trojans will be in the second group to go off on the 10th hole Thursday morning. Troy will be paired with North Texas and College of Charleston for the opening round with the initial golfers teeing off at 8:15 (CDT).
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