Arkansas Opens Spring Campaign At TPC Sawgrass
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas men’s golf team will open its spring season on Monday morning, traveling to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, to compete in the Sea Best Invitational at Dye’s Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass.
The 15-team field is the first of six spring tournaments for the Razorbacks, who posted a 42-17 head-to-head record during the fall slate with five top-six finishes. Arkansas enters its championship season ranked No. 31 in the country by Golfstat and Golfweek after making a run to the NCAA Championship last spring and finishing 12th in the nation. Six of the 15 teams in the field this week are inside the top 35 of the Golfstat national rankings.
Arkansas returns to the Sea Best Invitation for the second straight year after finishing T-3rd in the event a year ago. The 6,873-yard par 70 Dye’s Valley Course will feature 36 holes on Monday, Feb. 6, before closing out play with the final round on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Monday’s shotgun start will begin at 8 a.m. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.
The Razorbacks have been one of the most consistent teams in the country during the last decade, as head coach Brad McMakin looks to lead Arkansas to its 10th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance in 2017.
Arkansas captured the team title at the Mountaineer Intercollegiate in October, marking the 11th straight year the Razorbacks have hoisted a trophy during the regular season. McMakin has guided Arkansas to 23 victories in 11 years, including 18 during the last six seasons.
Junior Alvaro Ortiz will once again sit atop the Arkansas starting lineup after anchoring the team in all five fall tournaments. He was the low man in three of those events and finished in the top five three times, including a runner-up finish at Pebble Beach in the season opener.
Ortiz leads the way with an impressive 70.4 stroke average to rank in the top 10 in the SEC. Following his impressive fall campaign, the Zapopan, Mexico, native represented his country at the Latin America Amateur Championship and nearly qualified for the 2017 Masters Tournament, but settled for a three-way playoff runner-up finish at Club de Golf de Panama.
Arkansas continues to rely heavily on its freshman class, as Dylan Naidoo and Luis Garza occupy the No. 2 and No. 3 spots in the lineup respectively. Naidoo’s 72.3 stroke average featured two top-20 finishes in the fall, while Garza (71.3) had eight rounds under par and two top-5 finishes.
Freshman William Buhl is in the No. 4 slot after competing in three fall tournaments and recording a 73.7 stroke average, including a T-30th finish at Pebble Beach.
Charles Kim will round out the lineup in the fifth spot after posting a 73.7 fall stroke average. He is coming off PING All-America honorable mention honors a year ago after finishing in the top 40 at the NCAA National Championship.
Freshman Mason Overstreet will represent the Razorbacks as an individual, competing in his sixth collegiate tournament and carrying a 72.6 stroke average into the spring season.
The Rundown
Schedule: Feb. 6-7 | 36 holes on Monday, 18 on Tuesday
Course: Dye’s Valley Course | Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Yardage: 6,873 – Par 70
Format: Play 5, count 4
Razorback Lineup
1. Alvaro Ortiz, Jr. (70.4)
2. Dylan Naidoo, Fr. (72.3)
3. Luis Garza, Fr. (71.3)
4. William Buhl, Fr. (73.7)
5. Charles Kim, So. (74.0)
IND. Mason Overstreet, Fr. (72.6)
The Field
No. 31 Arkansas
Campbell
Charleston Southern
East Carolina
No. 2 Florida
No. 27 Florida State
Jacksonville
No. 32 Liberty
Lipscomb
No. 13 North Carolina
No. 30 North Florida
SMU
Tennessee
USC Upstate
Winthrop
For more information on Arkansas men’s golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.
