COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The bear will come out of hibernation Monday.
The Tennessee Tech men's golf team, idle since closing the fall schedule in October, plays its first tournament of the spring Monday and Tuesday with its entry into the Samfor Invitational in Oneonta, Ala., near Birmingham.
The 54-hole tournament will take place at Limestone Springs Golf Club, a 7,000-yard, par 72 layout designed by Jerry Pate.
A large field of 18 teams looks to dethrone host and defending champion Samford, which sizzled lasts year with rounds of 298, 297 and 282 to win the crown with an 877 total. Samford's Casey O'Toole was the individual champion, posting a 73-65-66--204 for medalist honors.
Joining Samford and Tennessee Tech will be Alabama, Belmont, Birmingham-Southern, Central Arkansas, Eastern Kentucky, Evansville, Houston Baptist, Illinois State, Loyola (Chicago), McNeese State, Nichols State, Southern Illinois, UT Martin, Western Kentucky and Winthrop.
Tyler Cassetty owned the low average in the fall for the Golden Eagles, scoring a 73.7 average through 12 tournament rounds. Mason Grifin (75.0), Sam Schrock (75.3), Lee Maxwell (75.4) and Greg Kitts (75.9) followed.
Results will be posted each day on TTUsports.com when they become available from Samford.