GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Tusculum College will host 14
collegiate men's golf teams at the 16th annual Tusculum
Invitational this weekend at Link Hills Country Club.
The first round begins at 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, followed by
Sunday's final round which is slated to tee off at 8 a.m. on the
6,733-yard lay-out.
The Pioneers have won this event four times, including the most
recent in 2006 when Tusculum fired a tournament record 579 over the
two-day event. Tusculum has recorded one tournament win and three
runner-up finishes so far this year. The Pioneers won the TC Fall
Classic, led by three-time classic medalist Chase Carroll. Carroll,
a senior from Knoxville, leads Tusculum with his 71.08 stroke
average and has won medalist honors three times in events played at
Link Hills, but never the Tusculum Invitational.
Darren Christie, a senior from Paisley, Scotland, has won the 2007
TC Invitational title with his tournament record 70-70=140 (-2).
Christie is second on the team with his 74.31 scoring average,
winning the Anderson Invitational to open the 2008-09 campaign.
Three other past champions will be returning to Greeneville to
take a shot at the title.
Grand Valley State University, who won the 2002 and 2007 titles
has enjoyed a solid season this year. The Lakers captured the Great
Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in October along
with the Northern Michigan Invitational crown to open the season.
GVSU has already finished in the top four in all seven of its
events this year.
Coker College won the 2005 invitational crown and is currently
ranked No. 22 in NCAA Division II. The Cobras have finished in the
top five in all four events this year so far.
Walters State College also returns as the Senators won the
inaugural even in 1994.
This year's tournament field will include South Atlantic
Conference members Brevard College, Lenoir-Rhyne University,
Lincoln Memorial University and Mars Hill College. Other NCAA
Division II schools include: Limestone College Tiffin University
and the University of Montevallo. Other participants include:
Spartanburg Methodist, USC Lancaster and Tri-County Technical
College.
The previous three TC Invitational medalists have come from the
Tusculum including Nick Kinzer (2006), Darren Christie (2007) and
Chris Wynne (2008). In all, six Pioneers have captured the
individual title at this event.
Admission to the 36-hole tournament is free and open to the
public.
- TC -
