Tigers Set for American Athletic Conference Championships

Sunday, May 1

Lecanto, Fla.

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championship

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Tigers Set for American Athletic Conference Championships

Apr 30, 2016 | Men's Golf

Memphis comes into tournament ranked 39th in the country

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The Memphis Tigers will look to carry its strong momentum coming after the fifth-place finish at the strong Maxwell Intercollegiate into the American Athletic Conference Championships.

Event: American Athletic Conference Championships
When: May 1-3
Where: Black Diamond Ranch, Lecanto, Florida
Par: 72
Yardage: 7,025
Live Scoring: Golfstat
Teams in the Field: No. 15 USF, No. 35 Houston, No. 39 Memphis, No. 63 East Carolina, No. 85 UConn, No. 99 UCF, No. 111 Cincinnati, No. 225 Tulsa, and No. 236 Temple.
Nationally Ranked Individuals in the field: No. 15 Lars van Meijel, Memphis; No. 23 Chase Koepka, USF; No. 45 Aksel Olsen, USF: No. 56 Thomas Perrot, Memphis; No. 139 Claudio Correa, USF; No. 171 Eric Dietrich, UConn; No. 183 Michael Perras, Houston; No. 224 Blair Hamilton, Houston; No. 234 Manuel Elvira, UCF
Tee Times: Sydney Chung, 7:50 a.m.; Taylor McCullum, 8 a.m., Eithel McGowen, 8:10 p.m.; No. 56 Thomas Perrot, 8:20 p.m.; No. 15 Lars van Meijel, 8:30 p.m.

MEMPHIS IN THE AAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

After a seventh-place finish in Memphis' first season in the AAC in 2014, the team got two spots better a season ago, and will look to continue the improvement curve in 2016.

AGAINST TEAMS IN THE FIELD

This season, when facing teams in the AAC, the Tigers have done quite well. Memphis has competed in two tournaments each with Cincinnati, UConn, and Houston, and the Tigers have topped Cincinnati and UConn both times, and split with Houston. In one tournament with both Tulsa and USF the Tigers have finished ahead of the Golden Hurricane and just behind the Bulls.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS

Leading the way for the Tigers this season has been junior Lars van Meijel, who averages 71.4 strokes per round, and has seven top-20 finishes in eight team events this season. He has been named to the European team for the Arnold Palmer Cup, and was recently named a semifinalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award for National Player of the Year.

Thomas Perrot is ranked 56th in the country, and averages 72.0 strokes per round, and has six top-20 finishes on the season. Perrot placed 26th in the strong field at the Maxwell, the team's last tournament, a weekend after taking 10th at the Mason Rudolph Championship.

Eithel McGowen has finished within the top-two on the team two times in the last three tournaments, and averages 74.4 strokes per round this year. He has shot under 80 in each of his last nine rounds, and in 17 of 20 rounds this season.

Sydney Chung is coming off of his best tournament of the season at the Maxwell in Ardmore, Oklahoma, where he shot rounds of 70 and 73, placing 28th in the field. He averages 74.7 strokes per round during the season, and has one top-20 finish (at the Pinetree Intercollegiate).

Taylor McCullum has shot a 76 or better in each of his last six rounds, and seems poised for a breakout at the AAC Championships. The redshirt sophomore averages 75.4 strokes per round during the season, and has two top-20 finishes.