Marshall University Athletics
Conference USA Men's Golf Championship Starts Sunday
4/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 24, 2011
TEXARKANA, Ark. -
Eleven men's golf teams are set to tee off Sunday morning as the 2011 Conference USA Men's Golf Championship gets underway at the Texarkana Country Club in Texarkana, Ark., with the winner receiving an automatic berth to the NCAA Regionals.
The championship consists of 54 holes on the par 72, 6,935-yard course over three days. This is the third time in five years that the tournament has been hosted at Texarkana Country Club.
After a blind draw, it was determined that Marshall, SMU and UTEP would begin Sunday on the first hole at 8:30 a.m. CDT. Marshall will be looking to Bosten Miller and Christian Brand to lead the Thundering Herd against a a very strong field. The Mustangs are currently ranked No. 50 by Golfweek and led by senior Kelly Kraft, a two-time All-Conference first-team selection and defending C-USA Player of the Year. Kraft is ranked No. 32 individually by Golfweek.
East Carolina and UAB will also tee off at 8:30 a.m. from the No. 10 hole. The Pirates are having one of their best seasons. Ranked No. 34 by Golfweek, they have been led by a pair of juniors in Harold Varner and David Watkins. UAB won the C-USA title the last time the tournament was in Texarkana in 2008, but the Blazers have an entirely new lineup from that season.
Houston, Rice and Memphis tee off at 9:20 a.m. CDT from hole No. 1. The Cougars field one of the youngest teams in the conference with four freshmen and sophomore transfer Will Dusenbury. Rice senior Michael Whitehead has the lowest stroke average in the conference (70.9). He placed 10th at the 2010 C-USA Championship and led the Owls to a tie for second in the team standings. Junior Jonathan Fly leads the Tigers this season with a 71.9 stroke average in 10 tournaments this season. Fly was named the 2010 C-USA Newcomer of the Year.
Rounding out C-USA teams in action will be Southern Miss, Tulsa and UCF with a 9:20 a.m. tee time from the No. 10 hole. The Knights are the two-time defending champions and enter the 2011 Championship with a No. 33 ranking from Golfweek. Junior Connor Arendell, senior Nuno Henriques and junior Brad Schnieder are all back after earning a spot on the 2010 all-tournament team. Southern Miss tied for second at last year's championship and will be led by junior Derek Plucienski, who tied for 19th in 2010. Tulsa has also done well in Texarkana, winning the 2007 C-USA title. This year's Golden Hurricane enters the weekend ranked No. 54 by Golfweek.
The championship is scheduled to resume Monday at 8:30 a.m. CDT and the final round will be played Tuesday at 8 a.m. Live scoring of this year's Conference USA Men's Golf Championship will be provided by Golfstat and can be accessed here.
