New-Look Hogs Open Season At Pebble Beach
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the third straight year, the Arkansas men’s golf team will open its fall season at historic Pebble Beach Golf Club, taking part in the eight-team Carmel Cup.
Ranked No. 20 in the Bushnell Golfweek preseason poll released last week, Arkansas will have a new-look lineup in the fall opener as four of the six players will make their Razorback debut this weekend.
Unlike traditional collegiate tournaments, the Carmel Cup format features six players per team with the top five counting scores contributing to each round’s total. Live hole-by-hole scoring for all three rounds is available at Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.
The Carmel Cup continues to host the best teams in the country as four of the seven opponents Arkansas will face are ranked in the top 10 in the country, while an additional two are receiving votes in the preseason poll. Six of the eight programs heading to Pebble Beach this weekend advanced to the 2016 NCAA Championship with four of those finishing among the top 15 teams in the land.
Alvaro Ortiz will lean on his experience as the junior tops the opening lineup of the year and makes his third trip to Pebble Beach. He posted one of his two career top-10 finishes at the event last season with a T-7th performance to lead the team. In six collegiate rounds at Pebble Beach, Ortiz has signed for four rounds under par, including a 3-under 69 in the opening round last fall.
With four true freshmen in the lineup, Arkansas has more freshmen playing this weekend than any other team in the field. The Razorbacks’ highly touted recruiting class will start 2-5 in the lineup and look to make an immediate impact as Arkansas opens its 2016-17 campaign.
Head coach Brad McMakin enters his 11th season at the helm of the program and has led Arkansas to five NCAA Championship appearances in the last eight years and 22 tournament titles.
The Rundown
Schedule: Sept. 2-4 | 54 holes, 18 each day
Course: Pebble Beach Golf Club
Yardage: 6,828 – Par 72
Format: Play 6, count 5
Razorback Lineup
1. Alvaro Ortiz, Jr.
2. Dylan Naidoo, Fr.
3. Luis Garza, Fr.
4. Mason Overstreet, Fr.
5. William Buhl, Fr.
6. Noah Edmondson, So.
The Field
| Team | Preseason Ranking | 2016 Finish |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | No. 20 | 12th at NCAA Championship |
| Georgia | No. 9 | T-16th at NCAA Championship |
| Ohio State | NR | 8th at Big Ten Championship |
| Oklahoma | No. 10 | 8th at NCAA Championship |
| Oklahoma State | No. 4 | T-10th at NCAA Championship |
| TCU | RV | T-16th at NCAA Championship |
| Texas Tech | RV | T-7th at NCAA Regional |
| Vanderbilt | No. 5 | T-4th at NCAA Championship |
For more information on Arkansas men’s golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.
