GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum College will host 10 collegiate men's golf teams the 23rd annual Tusculum Invitational this weekend at Link Hills Country Club.
The first round begins at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, followed by Sunday's final round, which is also slated to start at 9 a.m. on the par-71, 6733-yard layout.
The Pioneers are the defending champions as TC overcame a 12-shot deficit to claim its seven overall title and third in the last five years. Tusculum has won their home spring tournament in 1995, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2011, 2012 and 2015.
This year's tournament field will including fellow South Atlantic Conference members Anderson University and Lincoln Memorial University. NCAA Division II teams also competing in this year's tournament field include: Bluefield State College and the University of Virginia's College at Wise. Other participants include: Cape Fear Community College, Marian University (Ind.), University of Northwestern Ohio, Spartanburg Methodist College, Tennessee Wesleyan College and Walters State College.
Lincoln Memorial has won this event on two occasions (2013, 2014), while Walters State won the inaugural Tusculum Invitational in 1994.
Four teams in this year's tournament field are ranked in the top-50 in the latest Golfstat head-to-head standings, including No. 5 Walters State (NJCAA), No. 6 Marian (NAIA), No. 22 Lincoln Memorial (NCAA II), No. 24 Cape Fear (NJCAA) and No. 43 Northwestern Ohio (NAIA).
Tusculum senior Brad Hawkins leads the nation (NCAA II) in scoring as the Knoxville, Tennessee product has a 68.9 stroke average. He is coming off a sixth place finish at the Rendleman Invitational earlier this week. The 2015 All-Region honoree has captured medalist honors twice this season with victories at the State Farm Intercollegiate and the Pioneer Classic. Hawkins finished sixth at last year's TC Invitational.
Staples, Minnesota senior Nick Forsberg is second on the team with his 73.0 scoring average, which includes four top-20 finishes in his six events, including runner-up honors at the Pioneer Classic and a third-place showing at the Verizon Walters State Invitational. The 2015 South Atlantic Conference Tournament Champion owns a 74.60 career stroke average is currently the third-best in program history. Forsberg finished runner-up at last year's Tusculum Invitational firing a three-under par score of 70-69=139, one shot shy of medalist Eli Crumley of Young Harris College.
Junior Taylor Smith is third on the team in scoring at 74.2, which includes three finishes in the top-10. The Gray, Tennessee product tied for sixth place at the 2015 Tusculum Invitational including a one-under par 70 in the final round.
Junior Chris Hutson has three top-20 finishes to his credit and is fourth on the team with his 76.0 scoring average. The Knoxville, Tennessee native finished eighth at the Verizon Walters State Invitational last fall.
Junior Preston Tucker (Knoxville, Tenn.) is fifth on the team with his 76.2 scoring average, including two top-10 outings. Junior Cameron Dugger (Hampton, Tenn. - 76.9), senior Samuel Davis (Harriman, Tenn. - 78.0) and freshman Heath Ratliff (Fall Branch, Tenn. - 79.6) round out the scoring for the Pioneers.
Admission to the 36-hole tournament is free and open to the public.
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