After taking a couple of weeks off, the Stetson men's golf team will swing back into action on Monday at the Autotrader Collegiate Classic in Duluth, Ga. The event is hosted by Georgia State University.
 
This will be the first time a Stetson team has competed in the GSU home event, which has been played annually since 2011 at Berkeley Hills Country Club. The facility, which is located between Norcross and Duluth, was designed by Ron Kirby and Gary Player and opened in 1964. With greens of Champion Bermuda Ultradwarf grass, area PGA Tour players are known to practice at the facility before playing in the British Open.
 
The course will play to 6,706 yards to a par of 72. The field for the 2019 event will include 13 teams with an additional 13 individual players. This will be the final event before the first Golfstat rankings for the 2019-20 season are released.
 
In addition to the host team from Georgia State, the field includes teams from Boston College, Davidson, Francis Marion, James Madison, Lipscomb, Mercer, Nicholls State, Richmond, Southern Miss, USC Upstate and Western Kentucky.
 
Georgia Southern is the two-time defending champion in the event, but is not in the field this year. Host Georgia State was the top finisher (third) of the six teams returning to the event from last year. Past history of the tournament indicates scores will go very low. Georgia Southern tied the tournament record with a 15-under par team score of 273 last year in the opening round. The Eagles also set the 54-hole mark last year, finishing at 35-under par.
 
The Hatters will take the same five players who finished their last event, the J.T. Poston Invitational, with a one-over par team score of 853.
 
Senior Chris Williard has posted a season scoring average of 71.33 through two events, lowering his career average to 75.68. He has played three of his six rounds this fall at or under par, but his looking for his first top 10 finish of the season.
 
Sophomore Benjamin Resnick has led the young Hatters, having played his six rounds this fall to an average of 72.67. Fellow sophomore Carson Tewell is just behind his classmate with a fall average of 72.83.
 
The other two members of the squad for the Hatters are freshmen Mason Quagliata and Jon Lumley. Quagliata has a 73.17 scoring average through the first two events of his career while Lumley averaged 73.67 in his first event two weeks ago.
 
Play on Monday will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. The Hatters will begin play in the 36-hole day on holes 11 through 14 and are paired with ASUN foe Lipscomb and former ASUN member USC Upstate.
 
Tuesday's final round of play is scheduled to begin with tee times from both the first and 10^th holes starting at 8 a.m. Live scoring will be available throughout the event on Golfstat.com.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.