McMakin Announces 2019-20 Schedule
FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas head men’s golf coach Brad McMakin unveiled the Razorbacks’ 2019-20 schedule which once again features some of the top collegiate events, including six events that annually rank among the nation’s top 25. After eight regular-season tournaments, the Razorbacks will return to Sea Island Golf Club (St. Simons Island, Ga.) to defend its SEC Championship (April 22-26) and look to make a 13th straight NCAA postseason appearance.
“We are really excited about this season,” McMakin said. “We have four experienced seniors, sophomore Julian Perico is coming off an NCAA Championship berth and we have a strong freshman class coming. We always look to schedule the best and this year is no exception. The first four events will feature some of the nation’s top programs and will test us right from the start. Then, as we start the spring, we will once again face a difficult gauntlet. We added two new events – one to close the fall and one to close the spring – but, based on last year, these events will certainly feature nationally-ranked programs.”
For the sixth consecutive year, Arkansas will open its slate at the Carmel Cup – one of the nation’s premier events and played at perhaps the nation’s premier venue. The three-day event (Aug. 31-Sept 3) is played at Pebble Beach and features four SEC programs and four Big 12 programs. Last Year, Luis Garza tied for third as he posted an impressive 15-under-par 201 thanks to rounds of 70-67-64. The final-round 64 ties for the third-best 18-hole score following a pair of 63’s. Overall, Arkansas was 28-under as five Razorbacks finished the event under par.
The Razorbacks will then head to the Gopher Invitational (Sept. 8-9), a top 25 event nationally, for the 10th time in the McMakin era. Last year, William Buhl claimed his first collegiate medalist honor, firing a 7-under 206, to lead Arkansas to a fourth-place finish. Arkansas has won the Gopher twice (2011, 2017), finished runner up twice (2007, 2009) and placed third twice (2010, 2012).
Arkansas will return to the Bearcat Invitational (Sept. 30-Oct. 1). The Razorbacks finished second at the 2017 Invitational, but last year’s tournament was rained out. Six days later (Oct. 7-8), Arkansas will play in the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate for the 10th time overall and seventh consecutive year. The Razorbacks were runner-up to host Alabama by one stroke. However, Perico set two school records in winning his first collegiate event. The Lima, Peru, native shot rounds of 64-65-68 and finished 13-under par. He set school marks for best 36-hole total (129) and best 54-hole total (197).
The fall portion of the schedule concludes at the White Sands Intercollegiate, played at Paradise Island in the Bahamas Nov. 1-3.
The spring schedule opens with four familiar events, starting Feb. 3-4 at the Sea Best Invitational, played at TPC Sawgrass.
From that point, Arkansas will play in three straight events rated “A” (highest rating) on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. The first is The Prestige (Feb. 17-19) at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., followed by Cabo Collegiate (Mar. 1-3) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and the Valspar Collegiate Invitational (Mar. 16-17) at The Floridian in Palm City, Fla.
The regular-season wraps up at a new event to the Razorbacks – the 23rd annual Irish Creek Collegiate (April 4-5). Davidson and Charlotte serve as co-hosts with the tournament being played at The Club at Irish Creek in Kannapolis, N.C.
The six hosts for the 2020 NCAA Regionals including Auburn, Clemson, LUS< San Diego, Oklahoma and Michigan State. The 2020 NCAA Championships (May 29-June 3) begin a three-year run in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Grayhawk Golf Club).
For more information on Arkansas Men’s Golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.
