If someone were to ask Tennessee men’s golf coach Jim Kelson how he expects his team to fare in this weekend’s 26th Annual Carpet Capital Collegiate in Dalton, Georgia, his response would be simple.
“I expect us to play well and play consistent,” Kelson said.
The Vols are looking to bounce back from their share of 11th place in last year’s talent-packed tournament, but stout competition won’t be absent from this year’s challenge either.
With five top-25 teams in this tournament – Alabama, Georgia Tech, LSU, South Carolina, and Auburn – as well as three teams that received votes to be in the top 25 – Wake Forest, North Florida, and Clemson – the Vols will have their hands full.
The Vols will be looking to sophomore Jack Smith to perform as he did his freshman year, when he shot a 74 (+2), 71 (-1) and 75 (+3) to finish tied for 27th at +4 in his then-first tournament at the college level.
Junior Chad Murzbacher fully believes his team is ready for the upcoming tournament.
“We went on Saturday to Dalton to play in the qualifier,” Murzbacher said. “We got to see the course we’ll be playing in the tournament …You have to prepare yourself for the tournament.
“We’re very focused on playing the golf course … we’re very focused on what we are trying to do. In the end, we can’t control what the other players do. We can mentally and physically prepare ourselves, and go out there and do the best we can do.”
Kelson feels that group play, not individual play, will help in this tournament.
“All of our guys are pretty similar,” Kelson said. “They’re interchangeable, and that’s a strength of our team this year.”
The Farm Golf Club will be the home of the Carpet Capital this year. The 72-par course is over 7,000 yards, with four par-3’s, ten par-4’s, and four par 5’s, including the 2nd hole, which is a 601-yard behemoth.
The tournament will run from Friday through Sunday. Chad Merzbacher will tee off first at 7:30 a.m., followed by Jack Smith at 7:39 a.m., Mike Nagy at 7:48 a.m., Lorenzo Scalise at 7:57 a.m., and Juan Carlos Serrano at 8:06 a.m. All UT players will be teamed with players from Kennesaw State and Wake Forest.
