Elite Field Awaits at Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Oct. 2, 2015
RELATED INFO
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fourteen Nike-clad golf teams will battle it out for the 2015 Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational (NCi) title Sunday-Tuesday (Oct. 4-6). Ohio State’s fourth event of the season pits the Buckeyes up against nine Top-25 schools in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.
TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
Name: Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational
Live Scoring: GolfStat
Course: Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club (Portland, Ore.)
Yardage: Ghost Creek (first round) – 6,834 yards; Par 71 | Witch Hollow (second and third rounds) – 7,015 yards; Par 72
Format: Play 5, count 4
Schedule of Play:
First Round (Sunday, Oct. 4) | Tee times off of Hole No. 1 and No. 10 beginning at 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET | Ghost Creek Course
Second Round (Monday, Oct. 5) | Tee times off of Hole No. 1 and No. 10 beginning at 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET | Witch Hollow Course
Final Round (Tuesday, Oct. 6) | Tee times off of Hole No. 1 and No. 10 beginning at 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET | Witch Hollow Course
Field (14 teams):
*Top-25 Golfweek/Sagarin rankings listed
Arizona
#16 Clemson
#10 Duke
#8 Georgia
#4 Oklahoma
Ohio State
#24 Oregon
Oregon State
#7 Stanford
#23 Texas
USC
#6 Vanderbilt
#9 Wake Forest
Washington
BUCKEYE LINEUP
1-Clark Engle – Jr. (72.67 avg)
2-Josh Wick – r-So. (73.33 avg)
3-Will Grimmer – Fr. (72.78 avg)
4-Tee-k Kelly – Sr. (74.56 avg)
5-Addison Coll – Jr. (N/A)
THE COURSE
Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club is rich in history and tradition, playing host to six USGA championships including Tiger Woods’ dramatic victory in the 1996 US Amateur, his unprecedented third consecutive US Amateur championship. Pumpkin Ridge has also hosted two US Women’s Opens, and numerous Web.com Tour and LPGA Tour events.
NIKE EXPERIENCE
The vision for the NCi is to expose the very best in men’s college golf to a PGA Tour-like experience played on a major championship golf course and showcase Nike, Inc., and Nike Golf’s commitment to the athlete and to sports. Student-athletes and coaches will have the opportunity to tour Nike’s World Headquarters and attend a dinner at the Tiger Woods Center on Monday, Oct. 5.
WEATHER FORECAST
Favorable conditions are expected for all three days of competition. Weather Channel forecasts sunny skies with temperature highs in the low 80s with no chance of rain.
ENGLE, WICK CLAIM TOP-10 STATUS AT WINDON MEMORIAL
Buckeye teammates Clark Engle and Josh Wick both notched top-10 showings at the Windon Memorial, each finishing 2-under in the event. Their 54-hole total of 211 tied for ninth overall and just four strokes back from the tournament winner. Engle blitzed through the course on the final day, posting the second-lowest round of the tournament with a 4-under 67. He ascended 18 slots up the leaderboard, going from 27th place entering the day into a final ranking of T-9th. Wick positioned himself among the top players on the strength of a 138 two-round total on Day One.
KELLY CLIMBS INTO TOP-10 AT INVERNESS INTERCOLLEGIATE
Senior Tee-k Kelly shot even par on the final day of the Inverness Intercollegiate two weeks ago, solidifying his spot inside individual leaderboard top-10. He tied for sixth place among 75 players by posting a 218 (+5) overall. He started and ended with 71’s and posted a 76 in the middle round.
GRIMMER MAKING IMMEDIATE SPLASH
Will Grimmer manned the top spot of the Buckeye lineup the first two tournaments of the season. The freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio backed it up as well, posting top-15 finishes in each of his first two collegiate events.
Grimmer was ranked top-20 nationally in Junior Golf and qualified for the 2014 U.S. Open at the ripe age of 17 years old. More recently, Grimmer out-performed nearly 300 competitors to advance to the Round of 32 at the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship. Buckeye teammate, Michael Bernard, qualified for the 312-player event as well.
ALL-BIG TEN PERFORMER BACK FOR JUNIOR SEASON
Clark Engle picked up All-Big Ten Second Team accolades a year ago, rising as high as No. 71 in the Golfweek individual national rankings. The Springfield, Ohio native was selected to the PING All-Midwest Region squad as well, determined by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN
First-year head coach Jay Moseley officially took over control of the Buckeye Men’s Golf program on July 9 after lifting Kennesaw State into a top-25 national program. He guided the Owls to five consecutive NCAA postseason appearances, including a pair of trips to the NCAA Championships. Moseley’s first hire at Ohio State was adding former Buckeye student-athlete Brad Smith as his assistant coach. Smith earned All-Big Ten honors while donning the Scarlet & Gray in 2011.
