The Tribune

NCAA golf continues its calendar of events in The Bahamas with the men’s division of the White Sands Series.

Hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University at the Atlantis resort’s Ocean Club Golf Course, the 12-team field will tee off today to begin the 54-hole event.

Duke and Southern Mississippi are the favoured teams according to the most recent Golfstats college rankings. Both teams are ranked in the top 50 nationally, while six others in the 12-team field are ranked in the top 100.

Duke is ranked 43rd nationally while Southern Mississippi is currently ranked 48th.

Other ranked teams in the field include Nebraska (60th), Louisiana Monroe (64th), Stetson (70th), host school VCU (75th), Texas State (80th) and Arkansas State (90th). The other teams entered are Delaware, Sam Houston State, Troy and UTEP.

“It’s nice to be a favourite on paper, but we still have to play,” said Duke head coach Jamie Green. “Ian Siebers has been our most consistent player, but we have others who can get the job done. If we shoot the lowest scores that we are capable of, I like our chances. But there is no defence in golf.

“We are excited about the opportunity to compete in the Bahamas. When you say Bahamas, it opens people’s eyes. It will be a special week.”

“It’s going to be a fun week, and the competition is going to be tight. Duke is a formidable contender and Southern Miss is rolling too. It’s going to be a shootout,” said head coach Andy Walker of host school VCU.

“We have to remember we are there for business first but being in the Bahamas is definitely the highlight of the fall season, if not the whole year. But being at the beach is a lot more fun when you shoot 10 under par as opposed to 10 over par.”

Ahead of the event, the Troy University men’s golf team hosted a 90-minute mid-week clinic featuring more than 60 girls and boys at the Bahamas Golf Federation’s practice facility. “It was great to see the joy on their faces. Golf is bigger than this tournament, and we are glad we got to work with everyone here,” said Trojans head coach Forrest Schultz, whose team offered instruction and encouragement in driving, chipping, and putting, and passed out school T-shirts to everyone. Mia Underwood, 16, is a junior national soccer team player who has been practicing golf for just over a month.

“My focus right now is golf,” said Underwood, a natural athlete who only started playing to fill the down time after she developed painful shin splints that needed time away from running to heal.

“My coach is begging me to come back to soccer. And at some point, I will have to choose. Golf is growing on me.

“I’m now asking my dad to go play golf instead of the other way around,” she said.

The Federation is already a success, according to Gina Gonzalez-Rolle, who chairs the Junior Division.

“They are starting to see golf for all that it has to offer, from scholarships to life skills. We cater to the whole child,” said Gonzalez-Rolle.

“The fact that this college team would come here is important. Our children can now see themselves in their shoes.”

And if Gonzalez-Rolle gets her wish, the clinic will become an annual event for the White Sands Bahamas NCAA Golf Invitational.