The Jacksonville State men and Murray State women have been picked as the 2020 Ohio Valley Conference golf favorites in a vote of league head coaches released on Monday.
On men’s side Jacksonville State, the three-time defending champions, picked up eight of 11 first-place votes to finish with a league-high 97 points. UT Martin, the 2016 champions, picked up two first-place votes in being picked second (88 points) while Morehead State received the other first-place vote and were tabbed third (84). Belmont was picked fourth (75) and followed by Austin Peay (60), Eastern Kentucky (54), Tennessee Tech (47), Murray State (41), SIUE (29), Tennessee State (18) and Eastern Illinois (12).
A year ago Jacksonville State rebounded in the final round to win the title by 11 strokes over Belmont. The Gamecocks competed in six events during the fall, including placing second at the 2019 Golfweek Program Challenge to open the year and winning the Pinetree Intercollegiate in October. Overall JSU had three top four finishes to close out the fall season. In its six fall events UT Martin had a pair of second-place finishes followed by four-straight team victories. Jack Story was named OVC Golfer of the Month for September after three Top 10 finishes, while teammate Nick Wolf earned the honor for October after a trio of top five finishes. Morehead State finished in the top four in all five of its fall events, including winning the NKU Fall Classic.
The women’s vote saw three-time defending champion Murray State picked up six of the nine first-place votes and 62 total points to edge Eastern Kentucky, who received a first-place vote and 55 points, and Jacksonville State, who picked up two first-place votes and 54 points. Belmont was fourth (40) and followed by Austin Peay (37), Tennessee Tech (28), Morehead State (25), Tennessee State (15) and Eastern Illinois (8).
Murray State led from start to finish a year ago in topping the field by 20 strokes, the biggest margin of victory at the Championship since 2008. Overall it marked the 12th title for the Racers. MSU competed in a challenging group of tournaments in the fall and took second place honors at JSU Chris Banister Golf Classic (in a field that included five OVC teams). Racers senior Raeysha Surendran finished in the Top 20 of all four events including winning the Chris Banister Classic; she has the top stroke average (73.9) in the OVC entering the spring. Eastern Kentucky had a pair of fourth place finishes during the fall with Ragga Kristinsdottir averaging 74.4 strokes per round (second-best in the OVC). Jacksonville State ended the fall with two fourth place finishes in its last three events.
The OVC Women’s Golf Championship will be contested April 19-21 at RTJ at Hampton Cove in Owens Cross Roads, Alabama. The men’s event will be held April 26-29 at RTJ at The Shoals on the Fighting Joe Course. This year marks the first for the men’s championship to be decided by match play (semifinals and final following three rounds of stroke play).
2019-20 OVC Golf Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
Men’s Predicted Order of Finish
1. Jacksonville State (8 first-place votes) – 97
2. UT Martin (2) – 88
3. Morehead State (1) – 84
4. Belmont – 75
5. Austin Peay – 60
6. Eastern Kentucky – 54
7. Tennessee Tech – 47
8. Murray State – 41
9. SIUE – 29
10. Tennessee State – 18
11. Eastern Illinois – 12
Women’s Predicted Order of Finish
1. Murray State (6 first-place votes) – 62 points
2. Eastern Kentucky (1) – 55
3. Jacksonville State (2) – 54
4. Belmont – 40
5. Austin Peay – 37
6. Tennessee Tech – 28
7. Morehead State – 25
8. Tennessee State – 15
9. Eastern Illinois - 8