March 11, 2010

Low Country Intercollegiate - Round 1 Tee Times

Cullowhee, N.C. - Defending tournament champion Western Carolina and last year's runner-up, Wofford, will once again co-host the Low Country Intercollegiate this weekend at the par-72, 5,853-yard South Course at the Moss Creek Golf Club on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.

The event's first round will have tee times that begin at 10:00 am on Saturday, March 13, with the second round to commence at 9:30 am on Sunday, March 14 with a shotgun start. The practice rounds are scheduled for Friday.

"We are excited to once again be co-hosting the second-annual the Low Country Intercollegiate with Wofford at the South Course of the Moss Creek Golf Club," said Western Carolina head coach Steve Lott. "The facilities and course at Moss Creek, which will also host our conference championship on their North Course, are among the best in the golf-rich region of South Carolina. Last year's event was very competitive and we look forward to another great event in the Low Country."

The Moss Creek Golf Club, which will also host the Southern Conference Women's Golf Championship on its North Course in mid-April, features Fazio-designed courses that are lined with magnificent oak trees and tall airy pines, with strategically-placed sand traps, large ponds and water tributaries, and last but not least are the salt marshes which change twice daily with the tides. The South Course has been referred to by Golf Digest magazine as "A beauty with a bite!" Much of this course stretches along salt marshes along the Intracoastal Waterway and Mackay Creek which brushes along the northern reaches of the property.

Moss Creek's South Course was also chosen by the LPGA as the site of the Women's International, a nationally televised event.

Half of this year's field will be making its first appearance in the tournament, while seven teams return from last year's field. In addition to WCU and Wofford, Southern Conference members Appalachian State and The Citadel will make a return visit. Those four will be joined by Bucknell, Gardner-Webb and Radford.

The seven teams making their first-ever appearance are Augusta State, Cincinnati, Elon, Jacksonville, James Madison, Penn State and Richmond.

All told, the field includes four teams ranked inside the GolfStat top 100 with half the field ranking among the top 150 teams in the country.

Western Carolina (633), which has posted six top 10 finishes collectively as a team including three, first-place finishes to date this season, put three players inside the field's top-10 including the individual medalist a season ago to claim the team championship at the inaugural event. Co-host, Wofford, was the team runner-up a season ago, six strokes in arrears of the Catamounts at 639.

Sophomore Blaire Minter posted a four-over 148 to win by five strokes over Wofford's Alex Rankin (153), both of which return this season. The Terriers also return Sarah Herbert, who was the third-place finisher a season ago, with WCU's Desiree Karlsson and Alanna-Jean Keith of The Citadel who tied for fourth returning among the top five finishers in last year's event.

Admission to the event is free and open to the public. Tee times, results, photos and recaps will be made available through www.CatamountSports.com, the official web site of Western Carolina Catamount athletics.