Razorback Golfers Open Season at Tennessee Tournament of Champions

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansasmen’s golf team opens its 2005-06 season on Monday, Sept. 12, at the 18th annual Tennessee Tournament of Champions in Knoxville, Tenn., at the Holston Hills Country Club.

The two-day event features some of the nation’s top teams, including SEC foes Alabama, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, and tournament host Tennessee. The field also includes College of Charleston, the Finnish Junior Team, Florida State, Georgia Southern, Missouri, North Florida, Tulane, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

“We are excited about opening the season,” Arkansas head coach Mike Ketcham said. “We return our entire golf team from last season where we qualified for the NCAA Championships and this event is a perfect start to the season for us with a strong field and a challenging golf course.”

The Razorbacks feature one of the deepest teams in school history with as many as 10 players vying for time in the starting lineup.

Arkansas’ starting lineup for the season’s opening tournament includes junior Matt Bortis, sophomore Will Osborne, junior Beau Glover, sophomore Barrett Lais and true freshman Jordan Payne.

“We held qualifying this past week and these five guys stepped up and earned a spot in the lineup this week,” Ketcham said. “Our guys are going to have to be at the top of their game if they expect to be in our lineup. The competition level within this program is very high right now.”

After the two-day Tennessee Tournament of Champions the Razorbacks will travel to Reno, Nev., on Sept. 26-28 for the Wolfpack Invitational.