Kansas State University
Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate
K-State Men’s Golf Gets Spring Going with Sharkey Individual
Jan 29, 2021 | Men's Golf
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State men's golf team will return to tournament action for the first time in nearly four months on Sunday and Monday at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate, hosted at the par-72, 6,900-yard Georgia Southern University Golf Course in Statesboro, Georgia.
The Wildcats last competed September 28-29 in the All-Big 12 Colonial Collegiate Invitational, the only tournament K-State played in during the fall. The Wildcats finished seventh in that event before withdrawing from the Big 12 Match Play Tournament due to COVID-19 protocols.
"It's exciting to get back on the road," head coach Grant Robbins said. "With everything we have all had to deal with over the last few months, I thought it was important for our guys to get some competitive reps in before we start our team events in a couple of weeks."
The Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate is named after former Georgia Southern golfer Thomas Sharkey, who tragically lost his life in a house fire in the summer of 2011. The event is purely an individual tournament with no team scores being tabulated.
K-State will send senior George Clarke, junior Will Hopkins, redshirt sophomore Ryan Bender, sophomores Riccardo Leo and Tim Tillmanns and freshman Luke O'Neill.
Tillmanns notched his first career top-10 finish at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational, while O'Neill tallied a top-15 finish in his first career tournament as a Wildcat. Hopkins, Bender, and Clarke also competed, finishing in a tie for 31st, a tie for 39th, and 56th, respectively. Leo will be making his season debut.
"Most of our guys have only played in one tournament in the last several months, so this gives us a great opportunity to knock some of the rust off heading into the spring," Robbins said. "I know the guys are really looking forward to playing again."
Players Mentioned
