College golf continues with 5 more Lowcountry tournaments
The conclusion of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate was hardly the finale of college golf in the Lowcountry. More than five dozen more teams, big and small, have built spring break plans around competing in the area.
Five more tournaments tee off Monday, with the most recognizable names at the Colleton River Collegiate and USC Beaufort hosting its own Sand Shark Classic at Oldfield Golf Club.
"We have felt for many years like this is a second home for us," Michigan State coach Casey Lubahn said about the Colleton River Collegiate, which the Spartans are hosting for the sixth consecutive year.
Memphis and College of Charleston join Michigan State at the head of the lineup, giving the tournament three of the top 60 teams in Golfweek's current rankings. The 12-team event also features Rutgers, Connecticut, Cincinnati and North Texas.
Competition will take place on Colleton River's Pete Dye layout, site of last summer's U.S. Junior Amateur.
"It's a great opportunity to showcase collegiate golf at one of America’s finest clubs," Lubahn told a school liaison. "The Pete Dye Course at Colleton River is a demanding tournament layout and will again present a stern test to all competitors."
Meanwhile, USCB and defending Sand Shark Classic champion Coastal Georgia are among six teams ranked in the NAIA's top 30 who will tee it up at Oldfield GC. Coastal Georgia is No. 4 in the current rankings, with the Sand Sharks 14th and Dalton State 18th.
Coastal Georgia won last year’s title by six shots over USCB en route to the Mariners’ second consecutive NAIA national championship.
Dataw Island will stay busy with two tournaments, staging both versions of the TaylorMade-adidas Intercollegiate for NCAA Division III schools. The Cotton Dike course hosts the men's event, with the women playing the Morgan River layout.
Jeff Shain: 843-706-8123, @jeffshain
TEEING OFF FOR SPRING BREAK
Men
COLLETON RIVER COLLEGIATE
Where: Colleton River Plantation (Dye)
Teams: Ball State, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Charleston, Connecticut, Memphis, Miami (Ohio), Michigan State (host), North Texas, Rutgers, Toledo, Xavier.
SAND SHARK CLASSIC
Where: Oldfield GC
Teams: USCB (host), Bluefield, Bob Jones, Coastal Georgia, Dalton State, Faulkner (Ala.), Point, Reinhardt (Ga.), St. Andrews, SCAD Atlanta, Thomas (Ga.), Truett-McConnell.
TAYLORMADE-ADIDAS INTERCOLLEGIATE
Where: Dataw Island GC (Cotton Dike)
Teams: Carnegie Mellon, Ferrum, Guilford, Hampden-Sydney, Kenyon, MacMurray, Mount St. Joseph’s, Ohio Wesleyan (host), Shenandoah, Spalding, Virginia Wesleyan, Wittenberg.
Women
HILTON HEAD LAKES INVITATIONAL
Where: Hilton Head Lakes GC
Teams: Anderson, Armstrong State, Brevard, Catawba, Chowan, Converse, Erskine, King College, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill, Mount Olive, Newberry, North Greenville, Pfieffer (host), Queens, Wesleyan, Wingate.
TAYLORMADE-ADIDAS INTERCOLLEGIATE
Where: Dataw Island GC (Morgan River)
Teams: Bridgewater, Carnegie Mellon, MacMurray, Marymount, Ohio Wesleyan (host), Sand Hills CC, Shenandoah, Spalding, Washington & Lee, Wittenberg.
This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 8:40 AM with the headline "College golf continues with 5 more Lowcountry tournaments."