GREENVILLE, S.C. --- The Tusculum University men's golf team will be competing at this week's South Atlantic Conference Championship, which will be contested at The Preserve at Verdae.
This year's championship, which will be played on the par-72, 6,898-yard layout, will have a new format to determine the SAC champion. The first part of the tournament will be a 54-hole stroke play format which will be played on Sunday (36 holes) and Monday (18 holes). The top-four teams from stroke play will advance to a medal match play format to determine the winner. The SAC Champion will earn the league's automatic berth to next month's NCAA Division II Tournament.
Coach Hunter Chandley leads six golfers (five starters and one substitute) into this year's championship. Two juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen highlight the group with only sophomore Harrison Price and junior Marinus Jeebe to boast SAC Championship experience.
Leading the charge to Greenville is freshman Ed Linley who is having a solid rookie campaign. Linley has the lowest stroke average on the team at 72.71, which is the lowest scoring average ever by a TU freshman and currently the sixth lowest in a season by a Pioneer golfer.
Linley has recorded three finishes in the top-20 including twice in the top-10. His seven rounds of par or lower lead the team including a season-low 67 in his collegiate debut at the King Invitational. He tied for ninth in that event and also finished eighth at the Greenwood Invitational with a six-under par 54-hole score of 210.
Freshman George Evans is also making his SAC Championship debut and is second on the team with his 73.6 stroke average which includes two top-20 finishes. He finished 14th at the King Invitational with a one-over par 72-69=141. He followed by tying for 18th place at the Bob Dibble Memorial with 75-74-71=220.
Sophomore Harrison Price will be looking to improve upon his solid 17th place showing at last year's SAC Championship with 74-74-76=224. He has a 73.7 scoring average and posted a pair of top-20 finishes including tying for medalist honors at the King Invitational with a seven-under par 65-68=133. He also tied for a 11th at the Savannah Lakes Invitational. His career stroke average of 74.44 is the eighth-lowest in program history.
Junior Buster O'Callaghan has never played in the SAC Championship. He has played in a team-high 20 competitive rounds this year and has a 75.10 stroke average. He tied for sixth place at the WSCC/Bill Gardner Fall Preview and posted a 28th place showing at the Spring Bulldog Clash, which included a season-low round of 70.
Greeneville freshman Gavin Sells rounds out the starting five for the Pioneers. He has a 75.20 scoring average in his two events which included a 15th place effort at the Spring Bulldog Clash earlier this spring.
Junior Marinus Jeebe has a 74.42 scoring average in his four events this year. Like last year, he will be serving as a substitute. He posted a second round 76 at last year's SAC Championship.
Tusculum will be vying for its second SAC Championship with the first coming in 2015. The Pioneers have also recorded three runner-up finishes (2005, 2007, 2011) at the league tournament and finished fifth at the 2023 event.
