Arkansas Men’s Golf Tabbed 17th In Preseason Coaches Poll

August 24, 2018

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas men’s golf program, coming off a 12th-place finish at last season’s NCAA Championship, is ranked 17th to open the season in the Bushnell Golfweek Preseason Coaches Poll.

Defending national champion Oklahoma State was the consensus top-ranked team, followed by Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. Others from the SEC in the preseason top 25 include Auburn (#6), Florida (#8), LSU (#9) and Arkansas (#17), while Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Kentucky were among those receiving votes.

The Razorbacks open the season Aug. 31-Sept. 3 at the Carmel Cup, which is played at historic Pebble Beach Golf Links. The eight-team field includes #1 Oklahoma State, #3 Oklahoma, #5 Vanderbilt, #14 Arkansas, #15 Texas Tech, Mississippi State, Georgia and TCU.

Arkansas’ 2018-19 team returns three of its top five scorers from last season, including junior Mason Overstreet (71.52 average strokes per round), junior William Buhl (72.10) and junior Luis Garza (72.67).

Overstreet was the 2017 NCAA runner-up and earned All-Region last season as he tallied five, top-5 finishes in 14 events. Overstreet was just at Pebble Beach in mid-August as advanced through stroke play to reach the round of 16 of match play at the 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship. Buhl placed third in the 2018 SEC Championship and recorded a team-best 471 pars last season. Garza was one of four Razorbacks to play in all 14 team events, taking medalist honors at the 2018 Southern Intercollegiate.

Also back are Noah Edmondson, Landon Ernst and Tyson Reeder along with newcomers Thomas Critch, Wil Gibson and Julian Perico.