Elite Field takes to Lake Jovita for TSC Men’s Golf Championship
Donnie Smith
DADE CITY, Fla.—Four teams ranked in the top 10 in the Golfstat rankings are among those competing for The Sun Conference Championship starting Sunday morning at Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club.
Coastal Georgia currently sits atop the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 and is at the top of the Golfstat rankings as well. The Mariners have won seven events this season including the prestigious Battle at Primm and Dalton State Roadrunner Classic at The Farm.
Keep an eye on the 8:36 pairing Sunday morning, featuring Mark David Johnson from Coastal Georgia with Carl Fosaas of Keiser; they are the top two players in the NAIA according to Golfstat. Johnson carries an adjusted scoring average of 70.56 with Fosaas, a freshman, at 71.58. The Mariners also boast third-ranked Eli Scott, a freshman in their lineup. He will be paired with fellow freshman Benjamin Bailey, ranked 21
st.
Keiser checks in at fifth in the latest coaches’ poll. The Seahawks won the Saint Leo Invitational, held at Lake Jovita in February, posting a 36-hole team score of -8 (281-287). Fosaas and Bailey both placed third at -4 with Bailey carding a 67 in the first round.
In total, seven of Golfstat’s top 30 individuals will participate this weekend.
Eighth-ranked USCB and 10
th ranked Johnson & Wales will be paired together in the first round with 12
th ranked Thomas and 25
th ranked Southeastern joining SCAD Savannah with those teams teeing off starting at 9:30.
St. Thomas, Webber International, and Ave Maria make up the last groups.
The teams will play 18 holes each of the next three days on the Par 72, 7,054 yard South Course. The winner of the event will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship at Las Sendas Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz.
Live scoring is available through
Golfstat.