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"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Chris Dortch
April 17, 2001
Local golf fans can see some quality golf this week when the
Southern Conference Tournament comes to Chattanooga Golf and
Country Club.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday the tradition-rich country club
course will add another memorable tournament to the long list it
has played host to in its 100-plus year history. This figures to
be one of the most competitive conference tournaments in the
league's recent history, with two teams, perennial power East
Tennessee State and the College of Charleston, ranked among the
top 20 in two of the major polls and another (Georgia Southern)
ranked among the top 50 in all three polls.
The Southern Conference tournament took on added meaning a year
ago after an NCAA ruling that called for the league champion to
claim the league's automatic bid into the NCAA regionals.
Previously, the conference title meant little; ETSU has
traditionally played in the NCAAs regardless of whether it won the
league tournament, which it usually did anyway.
This year, though the Buccaneers of coach Fred Warren are
ranked eighth by Golfstat, 14th by GolfWeek and 15th
in the Mastercard poll, they will have their hands full.
The College of Charleston, ranked 18th by Mastercard
and 20th by Golfstat, brings a deep team that features
four players who are among the SoCon's top seven in scoring
average: Jedd McLuen (72.3, second), Daniel Brunson (73.0, third),
Bruce McDonald (73.2, fifth) and Kyle Bradley (73.9, seventh).
ETSU counters with the league's best player, All-American Chris
Wisler, who leads the league with his 71.1 scoring average. The
Bucs' other senior, Pat Beste, is sixth in the league at 73.3.
Wisler fits into a long line of great players at the school.
He's currently ranked seventh in the Mastercard individual poll.
"Chris is just a good all-around player," said
Warren, who's in his 15th season at ETSU after turning
down offers from Wake Forest, UCLA and Texas over the years.
"He won the Porter Cup this summer and has had a good senior
season. He's breaking a lot of the records set by Garrett Willis
(now one of the PGA Tour's leading money winners) and Keith
Nolan."
Warren ranks his team just a fraction below the one that
finished third in the nation when the NCAA championships were
played at The Honors Course.
"This is a good team," Warren said. "But we
still have some new guys. A lot of the young ones are still
developing."
Warren plays three sophomores among his top five.
Georgia Southern is fully capable of winning the tournament,
with a nationally ranked player of its own it Justin Kolumber (57th).
Kolumber and teammate Christian Newton are tied for 10th
in the league in scoring (74.1).
"This is the deepest our conference has ever been,"
Warren said. "Charleston is nationally ranked and, coming out
of District 3 South is virtually assured of going to the regionals.
Georgia Southern has had a very good year and is close (to a
regional berth) whether they win in Chattanooga or not. We've got
three teams that may go to the regionals irrespective of who wins
the conference tournament. That's unusual, but golf is getting
bigger in this conference."
One team that has yet to jump into that upper echelon of SoCon
golf is the host of this week's tournament, UTC. Veteran coach
Reed Sanderlin has a young team which is coming off its best
finish of the season, 10th in the Belmont Invitational.
Toby Geren and Jake Wilson tied for 34th in that
tournament with 10-over-par 223s.
The SoCon Tournament is 54 holes, with a round scheduled for
Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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Chattanooga is fortunate to be a semi-regular stop for major
college and amateur golf play. Consider the top collegians who
have played in the area in recent years: Tiger Woods (the 1991
U.S. Amateur and the 1996 NCAAs at The Honors), Phil Mickelson
('91 Amateur), David Duval ('91 Amateur), Justin Leonard (1993
Southern Amateur and the Carpet Collegiate at The Farm), Willis
('96 NCAAs), Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech (Carpet Collegiate),
Matt Kuchar (Carpet Collegiate, 1999 Palmer Cup at The Honors),
and Hank Kuehne ('91 Amateur, '99 Palmer Cup).
"Tiger and the Grand Slam"
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