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The 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Golf Championship will begin Sunday, April 20th in Paducah, Ky. The three-round 54-hole tournament will be hosted by Tennessee Tech University at the Country Club of Paducah and concludes with the championship ceremony on Tuesday, April 22nd.
The OVC Men’s Championship tournament features 10 teams ? Austin Peay, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Jacksonville State, Morehead State, Murray State, Samford, Tennessee State, Tennessee Tech and UT Martin. Student-athletes will begin with a practice round Saturday before the first round tees off on Sunday at 8:00 a.m. (8:30 tee times are set for Monday and Tuesday mornings).
Hole-by-hole live scoring for each round of the Championship can be accessed through links at OVCSports.com.
The Country Club of Paducah will play host to the OVC Men’s Golf Championships for the sixth time in the past seven years in 2008 (the 2005 event was held in Decatur, Ala.). The course features 6,915 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones and opened in 1965.
This year marks the 60th time the OVC Men’s Golf Championship has been held; Western Kentucky won the first championship in 1949.
Eastern Kentucky will look to get back on top of the OVC championship standings after finishing in first and second place in the 2006 and 2007 tournaments, respectively. The Colonels have four golfers in the top 10 of the Conference individual scoring average leader board. Leading the way is senior Phil Hendrickson, who has the league’s top scoring average at 71.8. Hendrickson will be joined by juniors Trey Bowling and Jesse Massie, and senior Justin Moore who are all in the top nine on the OVC individual scoring average list. Eastern Kentucky has had players named OVC Male Golfer of the Week three times this season (Bowling twice, Massie once) and had a player hit a hole-in-one (Ryan Britt).
Murray State will be chasing their first OVC tournament title in 17 years. The Racers will be led by sophomore Nick Newcomb and senior Jerry Price who are ranked eighth and 12th, respectively, on the OVC scoring average list. One spot behind Price in the stroke average leaders is freshman Cameron Carrico, who was named OVC Golfer of the Week on Wednesday after finishing third at the UK Bluegrass Invitational this past weekend.
Tennessee Tech’s junior John Fox finished the season ranked fifth on the Conference’s individual scoring average list (73.0); during the fall at the Skyhawk Classic, Fox fired a 65 in the third round of the tournament. That score ties for the third lowest score of by an OVC golfer this season. The team also returns 2007 All-Newcomer Team member Josh Simer.
Austin Peay will try to claim its first OVC title since the Govs won three straight titles from 2001-03. APSU may be considered one of the hottest teams coming into the championship, as the team recorded a round of 268 at the ASU Indian Classic on April 7-8. That round marks the lowest combined score by an OVC team this season. Senior Grant Leaver is coming off a great season in which his scoring average of 72.1 ranks second overall in the Conference this season. Leaver, a 2007 first-team all-conference selection, was awarded Co-Male OVC Golfer of the Week honors on April 2nd.
Jacksonville State brings back 2007 All-Tournament team member, senior Julian Colmenares, who has put together a great season and who will lead the Gamecocks. Colmenares was named Male OVC Golfer of the Week March 26, and shot a hole-in-one February 25th on a par three 203 yard hole. Freshman Gonzalo Berlin will also be a factor as he was also picked up Male OVC Golfer of the Week honors once this season. Berlin’s round of 65 this past fall at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate is tied for the third lowest round by an OVC golfer this season.
UT Martin will be led by juniors Cole Floyd and Brad Stevens. Floyd was recently named Male OVC Golfer of the Week for the Week (April 9th) after his second place performance at the Murray State Spring Invitational. Floyd also tied for medalist honors at the Murray State Invitational which was held this past fall. Stevens has six top 20 finishes in tournaments this season. Another Skyhawk to watch out for is senior John Slayton, who had a round of 66 (ninth best in the league this season) earlier this season.
Eastern Illinois had five Top 10 team finishes during the season. Seniors Matt and Mike Imburgia lead the Panthers in scoring average with 75.9 and 76.1 respectively. Sophomore Matt Bird also provided a lift this season for EIU with his impressive play. Bird shot the second longest hole-in-one this season by an OVC golfer on a par three 194-yard hole at the North/South Intercollegiate March 10th.
Morehead State posted four Top 10 finishes this season. MSU junior Shawn Tipton won the 2006 OVC Championship and will look to claim individual medalist honors again in 2008. The Eagles are led by sophomores Davy Fields (77.0) and Jeff Pierce (77.2) in scoring average.
The Samford squad has posted three Top 5 finishes this season. Bulldog junior Ian Cutting led the team in scoring average this season (76.3). Freshman Martin Bunt had a second place performance at the WCU Intercollegiate in November when he shot a three-under par score.
Tennessee State sophomore Chris Seibel led the team this year with a 76.7 scoring average. Seibel finished tied for fifth place at the Grover Page Classic after a two-over par performance. TSU had three Top 10 finishes this season in head coach Chip Taylor’s inaugural season at the helm for the Tigers.
The OVC will honor its annual All-OVC teams, All-Newcomer Team and Freshman of the Year at a banquet on Sunday night in Paducah. The OVC Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, as well as the All-Tournament Team and Tournament MVP, will be presented at the conclusion of the third round of competition on Tuesday.