FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Mizzou Men's Golf travels to Fayetteville this upcoming week to make its 2020-21 debut at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on Monday. The 54-hole stroke play competition will feature all 14 Southeastern Conference golf programs, providing a deep and talented field.
"We've been working hard toward this opportunity since our season was cut short last spring," head coach Mark Leroux said. "We're grateful and excited to have a chance to compete, and I know our guys are ready to tee off and play some great golf."
WHERE: The tournament will take place at Blessings Golf Club (Par-72, 7,527 yards) in Fayetteville, Ark.
WHEN: The Blessings Collegiate Invitational will begin on Monday, Oct. 5 and end Wednesday, Oct. 7. The Tigers are set to tee off from the 10th hole at 9:49 a.m.
FOLLOW: The GOLF Channel will be broadcasting live coverage of the tournament each day from 3:30-6:30 (CT). Live results and scores will be available on www.Golfstat.com.
LINEUP: 1. Ross Steelman, 2. Jack Parker, 3. Rory Franssen, 4. Walker Kesterson, 5. Yu-Ta Tsai
Coming off of a strong freshman year, Ross Steelman earned the top spot in the Tigers' lineup this week after posting a 72.48 scoring average last season, the fifth-best among all SEC freshmen.
Senior Jack Parker returns to action after registering his best scoring average thus far in his Mizzou career - 73.3 - as a junior in 2019-20. His enters his senior campaign with 14 career rounds under par after starting in all five of Mizzou's five fall events a season ago.
Rory Franssen is representing Mizzou in the third spot this week, taking advantage of his extra year of eligibility after racking up six consecutive Top-24 finishes to close out last year's shortened season due to COVID-19. He carded 10 rounds under par and four events under par as a senior, in addition to being named SEC Golfer of the Week in March 2020.
Taking the fourth spot on Mizzou's roster during his Tiger debut, graduate transfer Walker Kesterson brings with him a successful four-year campaign at the University of Southern Mississippi, where he recorded four Top-35 individual finishes as a senior and tallied 31 career rounds of par or better.
Sophomore Yu-Ta Tsai returns to compete in the final spot for Mizzou at the Blessings. He posted a career-low 3-under 69 in the opening round of the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate, the last event of the 2019-2020 season.
For more updates on Mizzou Men's Golf, visit MUTigers.com and follow the team and their results at @MizzouMensGolf (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook).