TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The long winter lay-off is over for Sycamore Golf as they travel to beautiful Kiawah Island, S.C. for the 2018 Edwin Watts / Kiawah Island Classic to be held on two championship courses against the largest field that they will see this season.
Tournament play begins on Sunday, February 25 and will continue on Monday and Tuesday with one round each day. The event will be held on the Kiawah Island Golf Resort using both Osprey Point (par-72, 5,964 yards) and Oak Point (par-72, 5,941 yards).
Tabbed as the largest collegiate golf tournament in the country, the 2018 edition of the Edwin Watts / Kiawah Island Spring Classic has expanded to 42 teams in this year's field and will be played for the fourth time in its history at Osprey Point at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort on Kiawah Island, S.C. Two courses are used for the three-day, 54-hole tournament including Oak Point. After 36 holes of play, the Top 22 teams will play for the championship at Osprey Point during the final round, while teams 23-42 will play for a flight championship at Oak Point.
Heading to South Carolina for this tough spring opener will be
Robyn Blanchard,
Thilda Staubo,
Sierra Hargens,
Dawn Turner and
Sophie Benetti.
"We are looking forward to our first time outside in four months," head coach
Greg Towne said. "Over 40 teams will be competing at one of the best venues in the country. This tournament will feature mostly Southern teams. The winter has been good for us to get in a lot of swing changes and to work extra hard on our mental side. The level of camaraderie and effort is off the charts, I have a really good feeling about the team this year."
The Sycamores enter the spring ranked fourth by GolfStat in the Missouri Valley Conference with an average team score of 306.64. Sophomore
Sierra Hargens played 11 rounds in the fall and averaged 75.73 strokes per round to rank sixth in the league. She won the Butler Invitational on a four-hole, three-way playoff and her low score of the fall was 70.
Thilda Staubo played 11 reounds in the fall and her average of 77.00 ranks 14th in the league while
Sophie Benetti's average of 77.27 ranks 17th. Robyn Blachard enters the spring with a 78.18 stroke average -- good enough for 24th.
Dawn Turner was limited to three tournaments in the fall and over the course of six rounds averaged a score of 81.00 which ranks 43rd in the MVC.
Participating in this year's tournament will be: Bethune Cookman, Boston University, Bucknell, Charleston Southern, College of Charleston, East Tennessee State, Elon, Fairleigh Dickinson, Georgia Southern, Georgetown, Hampton, High Point, Indiana State, IUPUI, Jacksonville, Jacksonville State, Lipscomb, Longwood, Marshall, Navy, UNCG, UNCW, Murray State, North Florida, Omaha, Presbyterian, Quinnipiac, Richmond, Samford, Sandhills Community College, SCAD, Stephen F. Austin, Stetson, St. John's, South Dakota, Tennessee Tech, Towson, USC Upstate, UT Arlington, Western Carolina, Western Kentucky and William & Mary.
Play begins with the morning flight at 8:45 a.m. (ET) on Sunday and continues with an afternoon wave at 1:30 p.m. (ET). Both tee times will feature a shotgun start. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com.
