By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Just under a month separates the Tennessee Tech women's golf team from its 2020 spring slate. Five tournaments await the Golden Eagles over a span of two months, each of which has become a traditional event for the purple and gold over the last few seasons.
Kicking things off from Mar. 1-3 is Tech's fifth-consecutive appearance in the Kiawah Island Classic in Kiawah Island, S.C. Hosted by the College of Charleston, the nation's largest golf tournament will again take place at both Oak Point and Osprey Point at the Kiawah Island Resort.
"We start the spring with our first tournament at Kiawah Island, which has the largest field in collegiate golf," Tech head coach Polk Brown said. "I believe, this year, it boasts over 50 teams, which is incredible. Kiawah is always, personally, one of my favorite places to go and I know the ladies on the team love making the trip down to South Carolina. It is a fantastic place and great golf course, and we always enjoy getting our year started off down in Kiawah."
Next on the docket for the Golden Eagles is yet another rendition of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate. Entering its eighth year, the program's annual event will once again be hosted at Sevierville Golf Club in Sevierville, Tenn. This year's tournament will run from Mar. 15-17 on the Highlands Course.
"As we move on to mid-March, we get to our event, the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate," Brown explained. "The staff at Sevierville Golf Club has been just outstanding to work with over the years and we always look forward to going up there and competing in our tournament. This year, we have the largest field I think we have ever had with 15 teams and 90 players. It is very exciting to play our second event back in Sevierville as we really start to get to the meat of the spring season."
For the seventh-straight year, Tech will compete at the University Club at Arlington in Eastern Kentucky's annual Colonel Classic. Scheduled for Mar. 30-31 in Richmond, Ky., the Golden Eagles head back to a course where they have found success in the past.
"We have a trip to Eastern Kentucky at the end of March," Brown said. "It's always a great field there and always a challenging course for the ladies to play during that time of year. The wind and weather usually make it pretty tough for the women, but it is a good tune-up as we head to the conference tournament a few weeks later."
One final event stands between the Golden Eagles and the Ohio Valley Conference Championships, the Jan Weaver Invitational. Hosted by league rival Murray State at Miller Memorial Golf Course in Murray, Ky., Tech will return to the event for the third year in-a-row from Apr. 10-11.
"As always with Murray State's events, [head coach] Velvet [Milkman] does a great job getting a quality field there," Brown remarked. "A lot of conference teams compete in that tournament, and with it being so close to the OVC Championships, it is another good tune-up to get our ladies ready to compete for a league title."
Wrapping up the 2020 spring schedule is the OVC Championships, making a return to Owens Cross Roads, Ala. and the Highlands Course at Hampton Cove, part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. This marks a return to the course for the first time since the 2017 championships.
"This year at conference, we are heading back to Hampton Cove for the first time in a couple of years," Brown said. "We have had a lot of success there over the years. It's a great layout and I look forward to seeing how the ladies build momentum over the course of the entire semester to get ready for the conference championships down in Alabama."
Photo by Thomas Corhern