University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Face Southeastern Flavor in Weekend Links
March 18, 2010 | Men's Golf
March 18, 2010
It's a quick turnaround week for the Tennessee men's golf team.
The Vols are in Statesboro, Ga., for the 31st annual Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational, teeing off Friday morning in the three-day event along with host Georgia Southern and 13 other schools. UT tied for second here last year and has a chance to test itself against another strong field.
While last week's Las Vegas tourney featured a 15-team field made up entirely of national top 50 squads, this week finds the competition much more regional. All 15 squads are from the southeast, including nine entries from the Southeastern Conference.
SEC foes (Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings in parentheses) in the field are Florida (8), South Carolina (13), Alabama (24), LSU (27), Auburn (49), Mississippi (57), Vanderbilt (68) and Kentucky (121). Other tournament participants are North Florida (23), Virginia (26), North Carolina State (36), North Carolina (65) and Louisville (71), in addition to the host Eagles (70).
The Vols are 28th in this week's Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings.
Head coach Jim Kelson is sending his same fivesome to the Forest Heights Country Club (Par 72, 6,962 yards) that he penciled in last week in Las Vegas: David Holmes, Robin Wingardh, Garrick Porteous, Darren Renwick and Jay Vandeventer.
Holmes fought through tough conditions last week to shoot 75 all three days and finish in a tie for 12th. It was the senior captain's fourth top-20 showing this season and he now leads the team with a 73.14 stroke average.
Wingardh tied for 31st last weekend and owns a 73.29 stroke average. His best finish of the spring season thus far is a tie for 21st at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational.
Porteous is in the UT lineup for the third straight weekend, coming off a tie for 37th in Las Vegas. His best showing this year also was at the John Hayt, where the sophomore placed 27th.
Renwick dropped to third on the team in stroke average (73.48) after his 61st-place result last weekend. The sophomore is tied with Wingardh for most rounds of par or better (10) and top-10 finishes (two).
Vandeventer rounds out this week's lineup looking to rebound from his 75th-place effort in Las Vegas. The freshman is making his sixth lineup appearance in eight events and owns a 75.87 stroke average.
Weather conditions call for highs each day in the 70s, with a chance of rain Sunday. Live scoring is available on UTsports.com via Golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
