AUGUSTA, Ga.-- Augusta State kicks
off the 2010-11 season this weekend when the second-ranked Jaguars
tee it up in the fifth annual Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini
Invitational at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club.
Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com. The
three-day, 54-hole event begins Friday morning at 9:00 a.m.
EDT.
The venue for the tournament, hosted by the University of Illinois,
is located just outside of Chicago at Olympia Fields Country Club's
North Course, a 7,157-yard, par-70 layout. Olympia Fields hosted
the 2003 U.S. Open won by Jim Furyk.
The Jags, who will take the course as a team for the first team
since capturing the National Championship in June, headline a very
strong field. Of the 15 teams, 11 are ranked in Golfweek magazine's
preseason top 20 including top-ranked Oklahoma State, No. 5
Stanford, No. 7 Alabama, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 10 Florida, No.
13 Texas, No. 14 California, No. 16 Duke, No. 18 Illinois, No. 20
Florida State along with Indiana, Northwestern, Ohio State and
Purdue. The field also features 12 individuals ranked in Golfweek's
preseason top 30, including ASU's Henrik
Norlander and Patrick Reed.
The Jags' lineup will consist of seniors Norlander, Mitch Krywulycz
and Carter
Newman along with juniors Taylor Floyd and
Reed.
ASU head coach Josh Gregory did not accompany the team due to the
birth of his son, James Baxley Gregory, early Monday morning.
Women's head coach Kevin McPherson will serve in Gregory's
place.
Arizona State won the tournament title in 2009 by two shots over
Oklahoma State, while Georgia's Harris English and Oklahoma State's
Trent Whitekiller were co-medalists.