STARKVILLE — Mississippi State men’s golf coach Dusty Smith announced a 2018-19 schedule Thursday that will have his team play a 10-event regular-season slate that includes the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship in West Point.
“We wanted a schedule that featured challenging tournament fields as well as championship golf courses that will help us grow as we progress through the season,” said Smith, who led MSU to an NCAA Regional last season. “I feel like the new tournaments on the schedule will get us out of our comfort zone and ultimately make our team better because of it. I am looking forward to this upcoming season and the opportunity to coach this team.”
MSU will play in only four of the tournaments it participated in last season.
The fall campaign tees off with two new events. On Aug. 31, MSU will take its first swings of the season in California at the Carmel Cup, a three-day tournament at the Pebble Beach Golf Links. A couple of weeks later, MSU will compete in the Louisville Cardinal Challenge on Sept. 14-16 in Louisville, Kentucky.
MSU will open October at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate for the ninth consecutive season. Peng Pichaikool finished eighth, one of his three top-10 finishes of the campaign, at last year’s event.
MSU’s fall will conclude with another new challenge, the Steelwood Collegiate on Oct. 27-28 in Loxley, Alabama.
MSU’s spring will begin where it did last season, the SunTrust Gator Invitational on Feb. 16-17 in Gainesville, Florida.
After a short break, Smith’s squad plays for three consecutive weeks in March. The stretch begins March 9-10 in Scottsdale, Arizona, with the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate. Five days later, the Bulldogs begin play at the Schenkel Invitational, where they finished fourth a year ago. The month concludes March 23-24 at the Tar Heel Intercollegiate in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
MSU will compete in the Mason Rudolph Championship on April 5-7 in Franklin, Tennessee, before returning to the friendly confines of Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point on April 15-16 for the Old Waverly Collegiate Championship. MSU took fourth at its home tournament last season. Garrett Johnson shot 2-under to lead the team and earn a top-five finish.
The SEC Championships will be April 24-28 at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia.
Following its first NCAA Regional bid since 2014, MSU will look to play in this season’s NCAA Championships on May 18-22 at Blessings Golf Course in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The NCAA Regionals will be May 13-15 at locations to be determined.
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