ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The IUPUI men’s golf team will open its spring slate this week when the Jaguars compete at the World Golf Village Collegiate against a stout 18-team field. The event, hosted by Eastern Kentucky, will span from Monday (Feb. 19) to Tuesday (Feb. 20) and will be played on the King & Bear Golf Course.
The Jaguars enter the spring reliant on a lineup built around veterans and rookies as head coach Jamie Broce rolls out two seniors at the top of the lineup and two rookies in the mix as well. Taylor Gardner leads the charges with a 71.6 scoring average through five tournaments while Kevin Tillery sits at 72.4 with a pair of top-10 finishes. Freshman Brady Schier owns a 72.6 stroke average at the No. 3 spot in the lineup while classmate Titus Boswell is at No. 4 at 72.9.
Junior Colten Girgis rounds out the group at the No. 5 spot at 73.7 and Morgan Tournemire will play as an individual, owning a 73.1 scoring average in 15 rounds played.
FORMAT: Teams will play two rounds on Monday (Feb. 19) and a final round on Tuesday (Feb. 20). Scoring will be 5-count-4 format.
THE COURSE: King & Bear is named after its two designers, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Palmer, known as ‘The King’ during his playing days, teamed with Nicklaus, known as the ‘Golden Bear’ on the design. The two World Golf Hall of Fame members, both inducted in the inaugural class in 1974, put the spotlight on their decades-old friendship, rather than their storied rivalry, to create the co-design. The course will play to par-72 this week.
THE FIELD: The 18-team field will consist of Austin Peay, Bellarmine, Belmont, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Florida A&M, Jacksonville State, Lindenwood, Morehead State, North Carolina A&T, Oakland, Purdue Fort Wayne, South Dakota, Southern Indiana, Stetson, UT-Martin and Youngstown State.
RANKINGS: IUPUI is ranked No. 231 with a 29-18-3 record entering this event.
LINEUP:
No. 1 – Taylor Gardner (71.60 average / 15 rounds / 1 top-10 finish)
No. 2 – Kevin Tillery (72.40 average / 15 rounds / 2 top-10 finishes)
No. 3 – Brady Schier (72.56 average / 9 rounds / 1 top-10 finish)
No. 4 – Titus Boswell (72.92 average / 12 rounds)
No. 5 – Colten Girgis (73.67 average / 12 rounds / 1 top-10 finish)
Ind. – Morgan Tournemire (73.13 average / 15 rounds / 1 top-10 finish)
LAST TIME OUT: IUPUI finished fifth of 10 teams at The Buddy with a 54-hole 867 (289-290-288). Schier, playing as an individual, tied for fourth among the 67-player field at 4-under 209 (68-69-72) while Girgis led the Jaguars’ lineup at 1-under 212 (72-69-71), tying for tenth overall.
UP NEXT: IUPUI will compete at the ECU Intercollegiate at Brook Valley in Greenville, N.C.