LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. --- Tusculum College junior Brad Hawkins fired an opening round 73 and is tied for 28th place at The Patriot All-America Invitational. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is being held at The Wigwam Gold Course. The second round will be conducted on Tuesday, followed by Wednesday's final round.
The tournament field is comprised of current All-Americans representing NCAA Divisions I, II and II, NAIA and the NJCAA. Hawkins earned NJCAA All-America distinction twice while playing at Walters State College.
The Knoxville, Tennessee native is currently five shots behind day one leaders Kolton Crawford (Arkansas) and Damon Salo (Johnson & Wales, Fla.)..
The 54-hole amateur event, which is the first of its kind to combine the talents of 84 nationally recognized players in a holiday bowl-like experience, is the combined effort of the Arizona Golf Association, the Golf Coaches Association of America and the Wigwam Golf Resort in conjunction with the tournament's beneficiary, the Folds of Honor Foundation.
In cooperation with the Folds of Honor Foundation, the golfers in the Patriot All-America will continue the tradition to represent a fallen service member. Every participant received a golf bag at the event's opening ceremony with the name and branch of service of a fallen military member whom they shall represent. Following the tournament, the bags will be auctioned off to alumni at respective schools with all proceeds benefitting the Folds of Honor Foundation to provide post-secondary educational scholarships to the families of the military service men and women killed or disabled while in active service.
Hawkins is playing this week in honor of Army Sgt. Eric A. Fifer of Knoxville, Tennessee. Fifer was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Fifer was killed on Oct. 7, 2005 in Asad, Iraq, of injuries sustained when his dismounted patrol was attacked by enemy forces using small-arms fire in Haqlaniyah, Iraq.
Hawkins has led the Tusculum charge this fall, finishing in the top-10 in all four events, including medalist honors at the Tusculum Fall Classic and the Walters State Fall Classic. Hawkins has yet to shoot above par in his seven competitive rounds and leads TC with a 69.3 scoring average. He finished runner-up at the State Farm Intercollegiate with an eight-under par total of 136 for his two rounds there. He also tied for ninth place at the rain-shortened Kiawah Island Invitational. His two tournament wins already makes him only the ninth player in program history to record multiple medalist honors.
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