University of Tennessee Athletics
PREVIEW: DICK'S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup
September 23, 2015 | Men's Golf
TEAM LEADERBOARD | PLAYER LEADERBOARD | LIVE STATS
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee looks to improve on its season opening eighth-place finish as the Vols continue the fall season in the DICK’S Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup at The Golf Club of Tennessee in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 25-27.
The tournament hosts six teams from both the SEC (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vanderbilt) and ACC (Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Virginia) in a three-round stroke play event with the first and second rounds on Friday and the final round Saturday. Sunday’s match play round pits an ACC team and SEC team against each other to discover which conference comes away with the top honor.
Senior Chad Merzbacher comes into the tournament with a top ten finish under his belt. His 1-over 217 placed him in a tie for seventh in the Carpet Capital Collegiate.
While sophomore Lorenzo Scalise shot 11-over in the season opener, his most recent tournament performance came in Italy on the European Tour. He finished in a tie for 11th after shooting a tournament total of 16-under at the Open D’Italia, reaching as high as third place on Sunday after five consecutive birdies.
The Golf Club of Tennessee is the host of the challenge for the third consecutive season. The 7,184-yard, par-71 course provides Tennessee with an opportunity to travel to the mid-state for the only time this season.
Although the Vols did not compete in the 2014 edition of the challenge, two Vols—Jack Smith and Juan Carlos Serrano Guevara—have experience at the venue. Smith finished in a tie for 12th with an even par and Serrano finished 41st with a 17-over in the 2013 cup.
Tennessee’s five competitors tee off from 8:45 a.m. ET to 9:29 a.m. ET in the first round Friday morning. In the afternoon round, Tennessee begins play at 1:45 p.m. ET.
For additional information, visit the DICK’S Collegiate Challenge Cup Home
Follow @Vol_Golf on Twitter for additional coverage.
