K-State Begins Spring Season with Sharkey Individual
Feb 04, 2022 | Men's Golf
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State men's golf team will get warmed up for team competition this spring by competing in the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate hosted by Georgia Southern, Sunday and Monday, in Statesboro, Georgia.
Seven Wildcats - Will Hopkins, Tim Tillmanns, Jack Baker, Luke O'Neill, Cooper Schultz, Nicklaus Mason and Laurenz Schiergen - will make their spring debut on the 6,900-yard, par-72 Georgia Southern University Golf Course in the annual two-day 54-hole event.
K-State is looking to continue the momentum from an encouraging fall slate where the Wildcats captured two top-five team finishes, including a fifth-place showing at the Steelwood Collegiate to close out the fall schedule in late October.
Head coach Grant Robbins, who is in his eighth season leading the Wildcats, is enthusiastic about starting the spring slate with this individual competition.
"We are looking forward to getting the spring season started this weekend," Robbins said. "Being an individual tournament, this will be a great opportunity for us to get some competitive rounds in before our first team event in Mobile, (Alabama) in a couple of weeks."
Robbins believes the location of this individual tournament will be advantageous for K-State moving forward.
"We are playing quite a bit in the southeast this spring, so this should help us get acclimated to the type of conditions we should see early on in the next couple of tournaments," Robbins said.
Kansas State will be led this spring by Hopkins, a senior, and Tillmanns, a junior, who were the stroke average leaders for the Wildcats in the fall, while also claiming the most top-20 finishes. These two veterans are no strangers to the Thomas Sharkey Individual, when the Wildcats competed in Statesboro last spring Tillmanns finished in third place and Hopkins in sixth place.
There is plenty of young talent on the roster this spring as the exciting young trio of O'Neill, Schultz and Mason are gearing up for a big 2022.
O'Neill burst onto the scene to begin his sophomore campaign with a fourth-place finish at the Wildcat Invitational and didn't look back. He closed out the fall rankings third on the team in stroke average at 72.08.
The two freshmen, Schultz and Mason, each earned consistent roles in K-State's scoring lineup during the fall.
Mason, who competed in three events in 2021, finished with four rounds even or under par, had 77.78 percent of his rounds count towards the team score and captured a top-20 finish at the Wildcat Invitational.
Schultz's young career is so far highlighted by a seventh-place finish at the Old Town Collegiate thanks to a team season-low round of 65. That 18-hole mark was good for the sixth-best round in school history.
Sunday will also see the collegiate debut for Schiergen, who comes to Manhattan with international experience on the German National Team. Throughout 2021, Schigren competed as an amatuer in 10 professional events across Europe, finishing third in the 2021 German National Amatuer and fifth in the 2021 German Match Play Championship. His lengthy resume on the European amatuer circut makes him a player who could step in and provide an immediate impact for Kansas State.
Baker, a redshirt sophomore, will make his second career appearance for the Cats after playing in the Wildcat Invitational during the fall.
The Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate will tee off Sunday morning with the first two rounds, while the final round will be held on Monday. Play on both days begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
"We are excited for the spring season," Robbins said. "I've been pleased with our preparation so far, and I know the guys are anxious to get on the road and start competing again."
Seven Wildcats - Will Hopkins, Tim Tillmanns, Jack Baker, Luke O'Neill, Cooper Schultz, Nicklaus Mason and Laurenz Schiergen - will make their spring debut on the 6,900-yard, par-72 Georgia Southern University Golf Course in the annual two-day 54-hole event.
K-State is looking to continue the momentum from an encouraging fall slate where the Wildcats captured two top-five team finishes, including a fifth-place showing at the Steelwood Collegiate to close out the fall schedule in late October.
Head coach Grant Robbins, who is in his eighth season leading the Wildcats, is enthusiastic about starting the spring slate with this individual competition.
"We are looking forward to getting the spring season started this weekend," Robbins said. "Being an individual tournament, this will be a great opportunity for us to get some competitive rounds in before our first team event in Mobile, (Alabama) in a couple of weeks."
Robbins believes the location of this individual tournament will be advantageous for K-State moving forward.
"We are playing quite a bit in the southeast this spring, so this should help us get acclimated to the type of conditions we should see early on in the next couple of tournaments," Robbins said.
Kansas State will be led this spring by Hopkins, a senior, and Tillmanns, a junior, who were the stroke average leaders for the Wildcats in the fall, while also claiming the most top-20 finishes. These two veterans are no strangers to the Thomas Sharkey Individual, when the Wildcats competed in Statesboro last spring Tillmanns finished in third place and Hopkins in sixth place.
There is plenty of young talent on the roster this spring as the exciting young trio of O'Neill, Schultz and Mason are gearing up for a big 2022.
O'Neill burst onto the scene to begin his sophomore campaign with a fourth-place finish at the Wildcat Invitational and didn't look back. He closed out the fall rankings third on the team in stroke average at 72.08.
The two freshmen, Schultz and Mason, each earned consistent roles in K-State's scoring lineup during the fall.
Mason, who competed in three events in 2021, finished with four rounds even or under par, had 77.78 percent of his rounds count towards the team score and captured a top-20 finish at the Wildcat Invitational.
Schultz's young career is so far highlighted by a seventh-place finish at the Old Town Collegiate thanks to a team season-low round of 65. That 18-hole mark was good for the sixth-best round in school history.
Sunday will also see the collegiate debut for Schiergen, who comes to Manhattan with international experience on the German National Team. Throughout 2021, Schigren competed as an amatuer in 10 professional events across Europe, finishing third in the 2021 German National Amatuer and fifth in the 2021 German Match Play Championship. His lengthy resume on the European amatuer circut makes him a player who could step in and provide an immediate impact for Kansas State.
Baker, a redshirt sophomore, will make his second career appearance for the Cats after playing in the Wildcat Invitational during the fall.
The Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate will tee off Sunday morning with the first two rounds, while the final round will be held on Monday. Play on both days begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. (ET).
"We are excited for the spring season," Robbins said. "I've been pleased with our preparation so far, and I know the guys are anxious to get on the road and start competing again."
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