#7 Arkansas to Face Tough Field at the Valspar
FAYETTEVILLE – The seventh-ranked Arkansas men’s golf program, coming off a win at the All-American Intercollegiate earlier this week, returns to action on Monday and Tuesday (Mar. 23-24) at the Valspar Collegiate Invitational, played in Palm City, Fla., at the par-71 Floridian National Golf Club.
The Valspar annually attracts one of the toughest fields in college golf and this year is no exception. The 15-team field features 13 teams ranked among the nation’s top 35, including five of the nation’s top 10. Headlining the field is top-ranked Auburn, #6 Texas, #7 Arkansas, #8 Arizona State and #10 Texas Tech. Rounding out the field are #13 Pepperdine, #14 Oklahoma, #17 North Carolina, #23 Duke, #24 Southern Cal, #29 Wake Forest, #30 Florida State, #32 Texas A&M, host Houston and Augusta.
Arkansas finished 10th at last year’s Valspar (-8) as Texas cruised to the team title with a 36-under-par score of 816, winning by 13 strokes. However, two years ago, Arkansas placed fourth. It will be the eighth time Arkansas has played at the Valspar.
This is the eighth of nine events for the Razorbacks before heading to the SEC Championships in late April. Arkansas has finished among the top four in all seven events played this season, including three wins, a runner-up finish, two third-place finishes and a fourth-place finish.
Erich Fortlage leads the Razorbacks. He has three top-three finishes, his score has counted to the team total in all 21 rounds and he has shot par or better in 17 of 21 rounds.
All five Razorbacks making the trip have a scoring average below 72. Fortlage is at 70.71, John Daly II is at 71.33, Thomas Curry is at 71.73, Gerardo Gomez is at 71.78 and Niilo Maki-Petaja is at 71.95.
The Valspar is scheduled for 36 holes on Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday.
VALSPAR COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
Host: Houston
Floridian National Golf Club
Palm City, Fla.
Par: 71 • 7,088 yards
Format: 5 count 4 ||36 holes Monday / 18 Holes Tuesday
FIELD:
#8 Arizona State
#7 Arkansas
#1 Auburn
Augusta
#23 Duke
#30 Florida State
Houston
#17 North Carolina
#14 Oklahoma
#13 Pepperdine
#24 Southern Cal
#6 Texas
#32 Texas A&M
#10 Texas Tech
#29 Wake Forest
ARKANSAS LINEUP:
Erich Fortlage (1)
John Daly II (2)
Thomas Curry (3)
Gerardo Gómez (4)
Niilo Mäki-Petäjä (5)
For more information on Arkansas Men’s Golf, X and Instagram.
