MORAGA, Calif. -- The Saint Mary's men's golf team returns to action tomorrow in one of the nation's most competitive spring tournament fields at the Barona Collegiate Cup in Lakeside, Calif.
The 54-hole event, which features eight teams that are ranked among the top 50 in the most recent Golfstat national rankings, will take place at the par 72, 7,088-yard Barona Creek Golf Club. The 108-players who represent 16 different college teams will play 36 holes on Thursday, followed by a final 18-hole round on Friday.
"We are excited to play in the 2012 Barona Collegiate Cup," said SMC head coach Scott Hardy. "San Diego State has put together one of the best fields of the spring and the golf course is very good. We have been looking forward to the 6 count 5 format to see if our team depth will be an asset. Competing against these teams will be good preparation for the WCC Championships and the NCAA Regionals."
The field includes (Golfstat ranking in parenthesis) San Diego State (12), Arizona (51), Central Connecticut (194), Georgia Tech (9), Hawai'i (143), Illinois (41), Kent State (26), Loyola Marymount (86), North Texas (36), Northwestern (66), Pacific (99), Pepperdine (107), Saint Mary's (34), TCU (38), Southern California (10), and Utah (209).
The Gaels will feature a veteran six-player lineup that includes juniors Mac McClung and Ben Geyer, seniors Eric Grimberg and Anders Engell, freshman Jonathan De Los Reyes and sophomore Alex Bungert.
Five of the Gaels' six players have led the team in at least one event this season and Engell is coming off his best performance of the spring, finishing in a tie for second at last week's The Farms Intercollegiate.
"Smart shots and good putting will go a long way toward having a good tournament here," said Hardy. "If we play our games and stay focused we will have the opportunity to compete for the tournament championship as we have all season."
Host San Diego State won last year's event with a 1-under par 1,079, while UC Santa Barbara's Glen Scher took medalist honors with s 7-under par 209. Saint Mary's finished third overall in the 16-team field and then senior Richard Conlin was the Gaels' highest finisher at seventh place with an even-par 216.
This year's tournament will feature live scoring via Golfstat.com.
