Big 12 Events Highlight Abbreviated Fall, 2020-21 Slate Announced
Sep 23, 2020 | Men's Golf
MANHATTAN, Kan. – When the first tee shots are fired at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational, it'll be an All-Big 12, every-team-for-themselves fight for the top of the leaderboard. If not for a collaborative effort between the schools and coaches, however, the season-opening event - and the season itself - may not be happening. The event is the first of two in a Big 12 Fall Series, the only two events prior to the spring on K-State's 2020-21 slate as announced by Wildcats head coach Grant Robbins Wednesday.
"The Big 12 coaches really did a good job of working together," Robbins said. "We had several zoom meetings throughout the course summer about what the fall might look like and what we could do to ensure we had the chance to play this fall … everybody got on the same page."
The Colonial Country Club, site of the PGA Tour restart in June, and the Charles Schwab Classic, will play host to the Big 12 Fall Series Stroke Play Collegiate on September 28-29, a Big 12 exclusive event that will determine seeding for the Big 12 Match Play Tournament (Oct. 2-4). In the spring, the Wildcats hope to play seven regular season events before the NCAA postseason.
The Colonial Collegiate will consist of 54-hole stroke play, and the four lowest scores of each round out of the six players competing for the Wildcats will count. Teams will play as two groups of three-somes from the same squad to minimize contact. The final scores will be used for seeding at the Big 12 Match Play at The Clubs at Houston Oaks in Hockley, Texas, an event K-State has had previous success in, including a third-place finish and head-to-head wins over Oklahoma and Baylor a year ago.
"We are really excited to be able to play," head coach Grant Robbins said. "As the summer went on, it was looking more and more like we wouldn't be able to play this fall. As you look around at the other conferences, specifically the Big 10, ACC, and Pac 12 not being able to play at all, we feel very fortunate that not only are we getting to play, but we get to play in two really great tournaments at some incredible venues."
Following the two fall tournaments, the Wildcats plan to resume a normal schedule and open the spring season on February 21-23 in Palm City, Florida at the Hammock Creek Collegiate at the Hammock Beach Golf Club, followed by a familiar tournament and course at the Colleton River Collegiate on March 8-9 at the Colleton River Peter Dye Course in Bluffton, South Carolina, where K-State finished fifth last year, and third two years ago.
A week later, the Wildcats will head to Lafayette, Louisiana to compete in the Louisiana Classics at the Oakbourne Country Club on March 15-16. K-State closes out March with the Craft Farms Intercollegiate at the Craft Farms Golf Club in Gulf Shores, Alabama on March 29-30.
The Wildcats tee it up closer to home in the month of April, playing in the Missouri Tiger Intercollegiate on Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Missouri on April 5-6 before heading to Lincoln, Nebraska on April 17-18 to compete in the Husker Invitational at the Firethorn Golf Club. K-State wraps up April and the regular season with the Big 12 Championship at the Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas April 26-28.
NCAA Regional play is set for May 17-19 with the team's destination to be announced with the selected field, and the NCAA Championships are planned for May 28-June 2 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Wildcats return eight from last year's team, including graduate student Jacob Eklund, who tallied three top-20 finishes, including a second-place finish at the Colleton River Collegiate in a shortened season. Senior George Clarke, junior Will Hopkins and sophomores Riccardo Leo and Tim Tillmanns, all who made appearances in the scoring lineup, also return for K-State.
Players Mentioned
