University of Tennessee Athletics
Vol Golf: Valspar Collegiate Invitational
March 22, 2015 | Men's Golf
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - On Monday, the Tennessee men's golf team will tee off alongside a star-studded field at the 2015 Valspar Collegiate Invitational, hosted by University of Houston and played at Floridian Golf Club in Palm City, Fla.
Head Coach Jim Kelson will start junior Chad Merzbacher, sophomore Juan Carlos Serrano Guevara, sophomore Jack Smith, freshman Lorenzo Scalise and junior Michael Nagy.
The Volunteers head to Palm City after carding a 54-hole school record of 821 (-43) at the Jackrabbit Invitational. The squad posted a second place finish behind UNLV, who finished three strokes off the NCAA 54-hole record at 60-under par. The Vols will be led by Merzbacher and Nagy, who both posted top 10 finishes last time out. Merzbacher posted his seventh consecutive top 15 finish, finishing in 4th place after carding a career-low 13-under par. Nagy posted his second consecutive top 10 finish by shooting 8-under par to finish in a tie for 9th place.
"Two very strong performances in a row for Tennessee golf should have us brimming with confidence heading to one of the stepfather fields in college golf," said Director of Instruction/Player Development Matt Henderson.
This season's Valspar Collegiate field includes eight top-20 teams from the latest GolfStat rankings (March 19), including top ranked Illinois and second ranked Florida State. Last season, Georgia Tech captured the Valspar Collegiate Invitational title with a score of 15-under par. Georgia Tech's Ollie Schniederjans claimed the individual title after carding 12-under par.
The format will consist of five-man teams, with the best four scores counting toward the daily total. The tournament will begin on a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. (ET) Monday morning. Play will consist of 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday. Tuesday's pairings and times will be released Monday night.
Vol fans are encouraged to follow @Vol_Golf on Twitter for the latest updates. Results will be posted as soon as possible following the completion of each day.
COURSE INFORMATION
Floridian Golf Club: 7,114-yards, par-72
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
#1 Illinois, #2 Florida State, #5 Georgia Tech, #7 South Carolina, #10 UCLA, #14 LSU, #18 USF, #19 Oklahoma State, #33 Houston, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Memphis, Kent State
LIVE SCORING
TENNESSEE'S TEE TIMES
Monday, March 22 Start - 9:00 a.m. (ET)
Tuesday, March 23 Start - TBD
For the most up-to-date information about the Vol Golf program, visit UTsports.com/golf.
Players Mentioned
