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Albuquerque, N.M. - The Nebraska men's golf team is set to compete at the William H. Tucker Invitational this weekend. The tournament will be played at the UNM Championship South Course in Albuquerque, N.M. and the action begins on Friday, Sept. 28. The golfers will play 36 holes on Friday beginning at 7:30 a.m. The tournament finishes up with 18 holes on Saturday, Sept. 29.
Friday's rounds begin with a shotgun start and will be continuous, while the final round pairings will be based on the day one results. Day two will also begin with a shotgun start. The teams will begin play at 7:30 a.m. on Friday and 8 a.m. on Saturday.
Nebraska Head Coach Mark Hankins sees the William H. Tucker Invitational as a great opportunity for his team coming off the Cardinal Regional Challenge.
“The big thing for us is improving every week,” Hankins said. “If each our guys goes out, sticks to their game plan for 54 holes, and works to accomplish their individual goals, the team results will follow. They can only control how they play as individuals, so as cliche as it sounds, if they stay in the present and play one shot at a time to the best of their ability, we will be in great position.”
The two-day tournament features 16 teams from eight different conferences. Air Force, Colorado State, UNLV, Wyoming and San Diego State are the five teams representing the Mountain West. BYU, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine participate in the West Coast Conference while New Mexico State is a Western Athletic Conference participant. Coastal Carolina and UT-Arlington are Sun Belt members while Denver and UT-El Paso are Summit League and Conference USA representatives, respectively. Arkansas represents the SEC while Nebraska is the lone Big Ten team in the tournament.
NU will make a couple lineup changes after taking a week off to practice following the Cardinal Regional Challenge on Sept. 14. Sean Song and Daniel Pearson will make their first appearances of the season. Both players earned a spot in the lineup after their performances in pre-qualifying play last week.
“When you look at last year’s lineup, both of these guys played a lot,” Coach Hankins said. “Each of them has plenty of collegiate experience to compete individually and obviously contribute to our team effort. The best way to lead in collegiate golf, is to shoot good scores. We are pretty deep across our lineup and that depth is a great asset. If we get all five guys going in the right direction, we’re going to be pretty tough.”
Pearson, a sophomore from Longmont, Colo., played in 20 rounds as a freshman and had a 77.20 stroke average. He looks to provide a spark to the lineup in his first rounds of the season.
“I’m excited to go out there and help my team out,” Pearson said. “I feel a lot more confident about my overall game than I was as a freshman and my short game has really improved. Putting three solid rounds together and playing consistent golf is my goal this weekend.”
Song, a senior from Omaha, competed in seven of the ten stroke-play tournaments for the team last year and finished with a 76.90 stroke average. The veteran Husker looks to start off his senior year on a positive note.
“Playing my game and playing carefree is my main focus for this weekend,” Song said. “I’ve had a lot of rounds right around par lately, so I’m feeling comfortable with all aspects of my game. I’m excited to get out there and have some fun.”
Junior Tanner Owen will return to the lineup after shooting a career-low 68 (-3) during the second round of the Cardinal Regional Challenge on Sept. 14. Owen went on to tie for 38th on the weekend, his best finish since tying for 14th at the Hawkeye Invitational last spring.
Jace Guthmiller, one of the three seniors scheduled to be in the lineup for NU this weekend, fired a 213 (E) at the three-day Cardinal Regional Challenge to tie for 24th, which was the top finish among Husker golfers. Guthmiller’s 54-hole score of 213 set a new career-low for him.
Senior Jackson Wendling rounds out the Husker lineup. He was the top finisher for Nebraska at the Rod Myers Invitational on Sept. 9 to open the fall campaign after shooting a 226 (+10) to tie for 47th. Wendling was one of two golfers on the team to earn a spot in the lineup in all 10 of Nebraska's stroke-play tournaments in 2017-18.
William H. Tucker Invitational
Friday, Sept. 28 - Saturday, Sept. 29
Albuquerque, N.M. – University of New Mexico South Course
Par 72 – 7,555 yards
Live scoring: Golfstat.com - Live Link
Format
- Friday, Sept. 28 – 36 holes starting at 7:30 a.m. CT
- Saturday, Sept. 29 - 18 holes starting at 7:30 a.m. CT
Field
- Air Force
- Arkansas
- BYU
- Coastal Carolina
- Colorado State
- Denver
- Loyola Marymount
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- New Mexico State
- Pepperdine
- UT-Arlington
- UT-El Paso
- UNLV
- Wyoming
- San Diego State
Nebraska Lineup