AUBURN, Ala. – The top-ranked Tigers of Auburn men's golf are back in action with a pair of events to commence the championship season this week.
First up, the team sends four individual performers to the Thomas Sharkey Individual Intercollegiate in Statesboro, Georgia, Feb. 5-6. The squadron of Austin Coggin, Hal Dove, Ryan Eshleman and Max Johnson will make the trip and be coached by Tigers volunteer assistant Buddy Alexander.
"We all want to go out there and compete," Dove said. "This is a great opportunity for the four of us to battle against a field of strong players. I'm also looking forward to working with coach Alexander and picking his brain. He's been one of the best in the game for a long time and any chance you get to spend time with him, you're going to become a better player."
No stranger to Statesboro, Alexander was a two-time All-American player at Georgia Southern University and served as the program's head coach from 1977-1980.
"Statesboro is obviously near to my heart," Alexander said. "I'm looking forward to sharing some of my experiences with the group this week. Each of them possesses the capability to come out on top if they play their game, and that's what we're going to be focused on. We want to leave as better students of the game than when we arrived."
The event will be played at the official GSU Golf Course at University Park with 36 holes of action set for Sunday, followed by the final 18 on Monday.
To come out on top, the Auburn contingent will need to outplay a field consisting of 58 other individuals from Clemson, Florida, Liberty, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Ole Miss, South Carolina, South Carolina Beaufort, Virginia, West Virginia, and the host school, Georgia Southern.
"Any time I get to put the bag on my shoulder and play for the school that has meant so much to me since I was a little kid is going to be special," Dove said. "I'm looking forward to being able to represent my team this week and over the spring."
Sunday's action will commence with a shotgun start at 7:30 a.m. CT. The Tigers' representatives will be paired with players from both Georgia Southern and Florida for the first 36 holes of competition.
Live scoring for the entirety of the tournament can be found at Golfstat.com.
Named for the former GSU student-athlete, the Thomas Sharkey Individual Intercollegiate honors Sharkey, who passed tragically in a house fire during the summer of 2011.