Long-Awaited Spring Season Debut Comes Sunday at Tiger Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 5, 2016
RELATED INFO
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University men’s golf team tees up the Spring slate on Sunday, March 6, competing in the 2016 Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner. Eighteen teams from 17 universities (host school Auburn will field two squads) will take to the course for a three-day (March 6-8), 54-hole competition hosted by Auburn University on the Grand National Lake Course.
TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
Name: Tiger Invitational presented by Jason Dufner
Live Scoring: Golfstat
Course: Grand National Lake Course (Opelika, Ala.)
Yardage: 7,149 yards; Par 72
Format: Play 5, count 4
Schedule of Play:
First Round (Sunday, March 6) | Tee times off of Hole No. 1 and No. 10 beginning at 7:45 a.m. CT/8:45 a.m. ET
Second Round (Monday, March 7 | Tee times off of Hole No. 1 and No. 10 beginning at 7:45 a.m. CT/8:45 a.m. ET
Final Round (Tuesday, March 8) | Tee times off of Hole No. 1 and No. 10 beginning at 7:45 a.m. CT/8:45 a.m. ET
Field (18 teams):
*Top-25 GolfStat rankings listed
No. 5 Auburn
Auburn ‘B team’
Georgia State
Jacksonville State
Kansas State
Kennesaw State
No. 25 Kentucky
Minnesota
Mississippi State
Notre Dame
Ohio State
South Alabama
Southeastern Louisiana
Troy
Tulsa
UNCG
UNCW
VCU
BUCKEYE LINEUP
1-Will Grimmer – Fr. (73.25 avg; 12 rounds)
2-Clark Engle – Jr. (72.73 avg; 15 rounds)
3-Addison Coll – Jr. (76.83 avg; 6 rounds)
4-Grant Weaver – r-Sr. (76.89 avg; 9 rounds)
5-Tee-k Kelly – Sr. (74.00 avg; 15 rounds)
(individual)-Sean Busch – Sr. (76.22 avg; 9 rounds)
LINEUP PILLARS
Clark Engle and Tee-k Kelly have manned slots in the Buckeye lineup for every tournament during the 2015-16 campaign, each logging 15 rounds during the Fall season. Engle paced the team with a 72.73 stroke average. The OSU tandem has combined to contribute 25 of a possible 30 scores to the team tally. Freshman Will Grimmer owns 12 rounds to his name, making an immediate impact upon his arrival to Columbus.
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.
MOSELEY RETURNS TO OLD STOMPING GROUNDS
First-year head coach Jay Moseley is bound to see some familiar faces down at the Tiger Invitational. He spent five seasons at Auburn University, serving as the Tigers’ graduate assistant in 2008-09 after competing as an Auburn student-athlete. Moseley was a three-year captain, Golfweek All-America Third Teamer and still ranks eighth in school history with a 71.83 career round average.
In addition, Kennesaw State will be in the field. Moseley took over the Owls program as a 24-year-old and transformed KSU into a top-25 team before coming to Columbus.
WEATHER FORECAST
Minimal chance of rain is expected throughout the competition with sunny skies dominating the forecast. Temperature highs ranging from the upper 60s to mid-70s will be accompanied by moderate winds.
TOP-10 TALLIES
One or more Buckeyes cracked the individual top-10 in four of five Fall events. Clark Engle did so multiple times, including a T-5th showing at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational:
Will Grimmer (T-10th) – The Carmel Cup, Sept. 4-6
Tee-k Kelly (T-6th) – Inverness Intercollegiate, Sept. 21-22
Clark Engle (T-9th) – Windon Memorial, Sept. 27-28 | (T-5th) – Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational, Oct. 4-6
Josh Wick (T-9th) – Windon Memorial, Sept. 27-28
RAMIREZ LEADS BUCKEYES IN COLLEGIATE DEBUT
Caleb Ramirez, making his Buckeye debut, carded an even-par 72 in the final round of the Tavistock Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 18-20) to earn a share of 20th place overall in the 75-player field.
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.
