The men’s golf team tees off Monday in Dublin, Ohio, for this year’s Jack Nicklaus Invitational.
The tournament marks the second of the season for the Tigers, who finished eighth at the Carpet Capital Collegiate last month.
Coach Chuck Winstead said the field of play next week will be difficult, featuring No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Oklahoma State and No. 5 Texas, among others.
Winstead said the Tigers’ work ethic has picked up in recent weeks and should contribute to a good showing in the tournament.
“All the guys have been working hard, and we’re ready to play in a strong field on a great golf course,” Winstead said.
This year’s team has never played at the Muirfield Village golf course, where the tournament will be held, but senior Sang Yi earned a 16th-place finish at last year’s tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
Yi said his confidence is at an all-time high, coming off a solid individual finish at the Carpet Capital tournament, where he posted a three-round 5-under par 211.
His play earned him a third-place finish at the tournament.
“I expect to win,” Yi said. “If I play to the best of my abilities, there’s no reason I shouldn’t get the win.”
Winstead praised Yi’s efforts this season and said he has high expectations for the rest of the season.
“I’m proud of the work Sang’s putting in, and I anticipate he will continue to have a good year,” Winstead said. “He’s already had a great first tournament.”
Yi will be the lone senior at the tournament, as the rest of the Tigers’ roster contains freshmen and sophomores.
He said despite the youth of most of the golfers, the Tigers still have depth.
“The team has come a long way in the past couple of months, and everyone has been putting in a lot of time at practice,” Yi said.
Freshman Curtis Thompson, sophomore Andrew Presley and freshman Miles Lewis all posted under-par scores in recent matches.
The Tigers finished sixth at last year’s Jack Nicklaus Invitational, with top-20 finishes from Yi and sophomore Smylie Kaufman.
Yi posted an 11-over par, putting him in a tie for 16th place. Kaufman finished in 20th place with a 12-over par. However, Kaufman won’t be competing in this year’s tournament because he didn’t make the cut.
 
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Contact Morgan Wampold at [email protected]