VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. -- The Samford University men's golf team will participate in its fourth tournament of the 2012 fall season this week, Monday and Tuesday, at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate hosted by the University of Alabama. The two-day competition will be held at the Old Overton Club.
The 2012 Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate will feature a field of 12 teams. On Monday, the teams will play 36 holes, while the third-and-final round of the 54-hole tournament will be held Tuesday.
This week, Samford will be competing against the following teams: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Middle Tennessee, South Alabama, UAB, UNLV and West Florida.
The tournament is named in honor of 1974 U.S. Amateur champion Jerry Pate. The former Alabama golfer plays on the PGA's Champions Tour after a successful career on the PGA Tour.
Since its inception, the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate has seen some powerful names in the world of golf win its individual title. Current PGA Tour golfers Rory Sabbatini, Hunter Mahan and D.J. Trahan have all won medalist honors at the Pate, and arguably the greatest golfer of all-time, Tiger Woods, won the JPNI in 1994 while competing for Stanford.
Samford heads into this week's tournament after earning an 11
th-place finish at the prestigious Firestone Invitational hosted by Akron University on Tuesday.
Samford's
Casey O'Toole turned in a stellar performance at the 17-team Firestone Invitational. The Bulldogs' senior native of Oneonta, Ala., registered a team-best 1-under-par 143 (69-74) to finish tied for eighth place in the individual standings. O'Toole's first-round tally of 69 proved to be Samford's best score of the week.
Samford's
Bill Nabors concluded the tournament with a final 36-hole score of 151 (74-77). Fellow senior
Drew Aimone added a two-round tally of 154 (79-75), while
Zach Hughes and
Chris Clouser rounded out the Bulldogs' lineup with rounds of 154 (78-76) and 159 (75-84), respectively.
Following Samford's opening two rounds of competition Monday, the Bulldogs will return to the Old Overton Club in Vestavia Hills on Tuesday for the final round of competition in the 2012 Jerry Pate Intercollegiate.
