PINE MOUNTAIN - The Peach Belt men's golf championships will begin this Saturday, April 19 from Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. THe men will be on the Mountain View course with 36 holes of play on Saturday followed by 18 on Sunday. Columbus State is serving as host of the tournament, which is free to the public.
This is the third straight year and fourth overall that Callaway Gardens has hosted the PBC Championships, but this is the second time the event will be played on a weekend.
USC Aiken is the defending chapion after winning the 2013 crown by two strokes. USC Aiken enters the 2014 tournament as the hightest-ranked team in the Peach Belt at No. 3 in the most recent NCAA DII poll. The Pacers are also the top-ranked team in the latest NCAA Southeast Regional poll. Armstrong(8), Columbus State(10), Flagler(14), and Georgia College(15) are also ranked in the Top 25 among DII golf.
"I am proud of how hard they have worked all year," comments Head Coach Darcy Donaldson. "We have prepared for this week like any other, except we have played more this past week. If they take everything they have learned the past few months, we are ready and will contend."
Practice rounds for the PBC Championships will be held on Thursday followed by a banquet to award the All-Conference teams. Play begins Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. Fans can follow the action from Callaway Gardens with live stats for both events through Golfstat.
Men's Live Scoring: http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/indexh.cfm?tournament_id=5307
Below is a player-by-player breakdown of the Hurricane golfers participating in this year's PBC Championships:
Anders Olsson: Olsson leads the team with a 74.24 scoring average over 17 rounds this spring. Olsson has finished in the Top 15 of two tournaments. Fired a low round of 70 at Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate in Fleming Island, Fla. on Feb. 11. Olsson was the Hurricanes low scorer in five of the squad's ten tournaments in 2013-14. Olsson was named the PBC Player of the Week during the 14th week on April 3, 2014.
Nicholas Ward: Ward ranks second on the team with a 74.47 scoring average over 17 rounds this spring. Ward has finished in the Top 20 of four tournaments and in the Top 5 on one occasion. Fired a low round of 70 at Bobcat Invitational, where he tied for third. Ward was the Hurricanes low scorer in four of the squad's ten tournaments in 2013-14.
Fraser Johnston: Johnston ranks third on the team with a 77.70 scoring average over 17 rounds this spring. Johnston has finished in the Top 15 of once. He has fired a low round of 73 twice during the spring season at the Doublegate Collegiate and Southeastern Collegiate. Fraser was the Hurricanes low scorer back in the fall at the Kiawah Island Invitational in September.
Nick Ray: Ray ranks fourth on the team with a 78.88 scoring average over 17 rounds this spring. Ray fired a low round of 73 at the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate on Feb. 11. Ray has been a part of the competing five in all six tournaments played during the spring season.
Jungsun Lee: Lee ranks fifth on the team with a 79.06 scoring average over 17 rounds this spring. Lee has finished in the Top 40 twice. Lee has fired a round low of 74 this season at the Spring Kickoff Intercollegiate on Feb. 11. Lee was the Hurricanes second lowest scorer at the Spring Kickoff.
