University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Hits the Road for the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate
10/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Story by Gopher Athletic Communications Student Assistant Ellen Larson
Golfstat Scoring
Fresh off the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, the Minnesota Gophers will hit the road once again for the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate. The tournament will be hosted by Baylor University in Dallas, Texas. The team will play 36 holes on Monday, Oct. 23, and 18 holes on Tuesday, Oct. 24. The Gophers will tee off at 8:30 AM CDT on both days.
Unlike other tournaments, the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate allows teams to play as a group. Junior Peter Jones is looking forward to the format.
"It's going to be different, but exciting," Jones said. "I think if everyone just plays calm and relaxed, it could be really good for us. We play together so much during the year that I think it could turn out really well for us."
Head coach John Carlson agreed, saying it was a first in his coaching career.
"I think that it's great for our team," Carlson said. "I hope we get off to a great start and can feed off that. That's what that format is all about--being with your teammates and having your coaches with you, helping you along the way."
The field: The Gophers will face host Baylor, Arkansas, New Mexico, Houston, Iowa, Charlotte, SMU, Michigan, Kent State, Pepperdine, Liberty, and UTSA.
Baylor (9), Kent State (16), Arkansas (25), and Pepperdine (49) all rank in Golfweek's top 50 going into the tournament.
The course: The Royal Oaks Golf Course plays at par 71 and is 7,068 yards. Carlson expects success this weekend.
"It's a golf course that we played well on last year, and it's very similar to what we've seen and played on here in Minnesota," Carlson said. "This last week, we had some really good individual performances, and I really expect our team to play well this weekend."
The travel squad: Jones, Angus Flanagan, Thomas Longbella, Charlie Duensing and Riley Johnson will represent the Gophers in Dallas. Jones is coming off his second straight top-10 finish, including a career best round, tournament score to par and 54-hole score.
This will be Duensing's first scoring appearance for the Gophers this year, following two individual appearances at the Gopher Invitational and the Maui Jim Intercollegiate.
"It's exciting," Duensing said. "I've been working hard this fall. It feels good to finally be in the lineup."
Longbella will be playing in the lineup after finishing in a tie for sixth at last year's Royal Oaks.
"Longbella is someone we counted on to have a really good year for us, coming off a great freshman year last year," Carlson said. "At this tournament last year, he finished in the top 10, so I expect him to play well."
Players Mentioned
