Tigers Look to Carry Momentum into Valspar Collegiate Invitational

Monday, March 21

Stuart, Fla.

University of Memphis

Valspar Collegiate Invitational

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Tigers Look to Carry Momentum into Valspar Collegiate Invitational

Mar 18, 2016 | Men's Golf

Memphis has finished in top third of every tournament this season

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Two weeks after a runner-up finish at the Colleton River Collegiate to open the spring portion of the 2015-16 schedule, the team returns to action in a strong and deep field at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, hosted by the University of Houston.

Event: Valspar Collegiate Invitational
Host: Houston
When: March 20-22
Where: Floridian National Golf Course | Palm City, Florida
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,114
Live Scoring: Golfstat
Teams in the Field: No. 3 Illinois, No. 5 Florida State, No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Texas, No. 11 Clemson, No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 17 USF, No. 18 South Carolina, No. 22 LSU, No. 23 Arkansas, No. 29 Texas A&M, No. 31 SMU, No. 36 Houston, No. 38 Memphis No. 43 UCLA, No. 45 Georgia Tech, No. 46 Tennessee, No. 48 Kent State, No. 152 Lamar (all rankings are Golfstat National Rankings)

Playing in one of the strongest fields of the season for the Tigers, it is Memphis' duo of Thomas Perrot and Lars van Meijel who come into the tournament with the second- and third-highest individual Golfstat Cup ranks in the field. Perrot is ninth, where van Meijel stands 11. The pair were recently named the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked European players for the 2016 Arnold Palmer Cup Rankings. Other top-30 individuals in the current field include No. 1 Beau Hossler (Texas), No. 6 Sam Horsfield (Florida), No. 12 Charlie Danielson (Illinois), No. 16 Jack Maguire (Florida State), No. 19 Matthew NeSmith (South Carolina), No. 22 Hank Lebioda (Florida State), and No. 25 Stephen Behr (Clemson).

"This is our strongest field of the year," said Memphis head coach Blake Smart. "This is a tournament the team has been looking forward to playing for a while."

Perrot leads the Tigers, averaging 71.1 strokes per round, and comes into the weekend after taking medalist honors at the Colleton River Collegiate. In addition to his top finish, he was named the American Athletic Conference Golfer of the Week for his performance. He is a combined 13 strokes under par through the season, and has finished inside of the top-10 in each of the team's five events this season.

van Meijel, who placed seventh in Bluffton, South Carolina, averages 71.2 strokes per round, including averaging 69.6 strokes in the second round of tournaments this year. He also has five top-10 performances, and is a combined 12 strokes under par.

Eithel McGowen and Taylor McCullum average 75.1 and 75.3 strokes per round during the season, and McCullum finished 12th in the Colleton River Collegiate with an average round of 74.5. McGowen placed 34th in the strong field in South Carolina with a three-round score of 231, including a one-under par final round.

J.C. Campbell, who played as an individual at the Colleton River Collegiate, placed 50th in the field with a three-round score of 235. The freshman averages 76.5 strokes per round over four tournaments in the fall and spring, including using a three-over-par 219 at the Quail Valley Collegiate to close the fall season.

"As a coach I want to see us continue to improve and build on the things that we have been working on all year," said Smart. "If we can do that we will have a good week and continue toward post season play."