Cougar Invitational presented by Aflac Begins Today
By CSU Sports Information
COLUMBUS - The 2019 edition of the Cougar Invitational presented by Aflac begins today at the Country Club of Columbus. The first round will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start.
The first two rounds will be played today with the final 18 holes coming on Tuesday.
The Cougar Invitational, one of the premier tournaments in the nation, will feature a loaded 17-team field. Nine ranked teams in the Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll will be hitting the links in Columbus this week with six other schools receiving votes in the latest poll.
Joining the 21st-ranked Cougars will be four of the top-five teams in the nation. Top-ranked Lynn, No. 2 Barry, No. 4 Florida Southern, and No. 5 Lincoln Memorial will all be competing in the event. The other ranked teams in the field include No. 8 Florida Tech, No. 12 Saint Leo, No. 16 Limestone, and No. 18 Carson-Newman. Carson-Newman will be looking to defend their title after winning last year's Cougar Invitational.
The other teams competing this week are Clayton State, Delta State, Georgia Southwestern, Lee, Montevallo, Queens, Valdosta State, and Wingate.
"I am always excited when the Cougar Invitational rolls around," said Columbus State Director of Golf Mark Immelman. "For us, it is one of the events that we circle on our calendar as a 'Major'. The Country Club is in superb shape and I look forward to the very strong field testing their skill around its layout."
"Our kids are excited about playing this week. We shook some of our rust off in our previous event, and I expect our crew to bring their best as they play with pride and determination."
Columbus State will return to the course after competing in the Kiawah Island Invitational on Sept. 16 and Sept. 17. The Cougars shot a six-under 282 over the final 18 holes, which was tied for the third best round on the day. Overall, CSU finished 10th in the event.
Immelman's lineup will feature four of the same players from the last week's tournament. Jordan Doull, Ronan Kleu, Cole Cruickshank, and James Ashfield will all play in their second event of the fall. Louis Peeters will be making his Cougar debut.
Doull grabbed his 12th career top-10 finish at Kiawah Island. The junior shot a three-under 141, including a four-under 68 over the final round.
Kleu and Ashfield each finished the 36-hole tournament with two-over 146s while Cruickshank carded a three-under 69 in the final round for the Cougars.
Live scoring of the Cougar Invitational presented by Aflac will be provided.