Sept. 24, 2009
After falling just one stroke short of capturing its first title in more than a year last week at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate, the Unviersity of Memphis golf team travels to Nashville this weekend to look for redemption. The Tigers, along with 16 other schools, will compete in the 2009 Mason Rudolph Championship hosted by Vanderbilt. The event will take place at the par-71, 7,100 yard South Course at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.
In 2008, South Carolina posted a 13-under-par team total to win the event with second place Kentucky's Ben Fuqua (-15) taking medalist honors. The Gamecocks return to defend their title this year, joining Akron, Arkansas State, Belmont, Charleston, Davidson, Georgia Tech, Lipscomb, Memphis, Mississippi State, MTSU, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, South Alabama, Western Carolina, UT-Martin and Vanderbilt.
Mason Rudolph, the man who the event is named after, actually has his roots in Tiger nation. Rudolph is a native of nearby Clarksville, Tenn. and actually played his collegiate golf at then Memphis State (now the University of Memphis) before being called into service in 1956. After serving in the military for several years, he returned home and started on the PGA Tour. Rudolph played in the Memphis Open (Now the St. Jude Classic) for 23 years, posting a low finish of 3rd in 1958. In 1950, at the tender age of 16, he became the youngest player to ever compete in the U.S. Open. In 1995, Rudolph was inducted as a charter member into the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame.
The event will feature 17 teams and a 54-hole format, with 18 holes scheduled to be played on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Live scoring at statistics for the 2009 Mason Rudolph Championship will be available via http://www.golfstat.com
Also, keep up with Memphis golf on Facebook and Twitter:
http://www.facebook.com/MemphisGolf
http://www.twitter.com/UofM_Golf
The Squad:
Jonathan Fly, Carlson Cox, Jeff Hall, Jack Belote, and Lexus Keoninh will be competing this week for the Tigers.
1. Jonathan Fly is making his third consecutive start for Memphis since transferring back home this season. Last week at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate, Fly fired rounds of 69-69-71 to finish T7 individually and lead Memphis to a second place finish.
2. Carlson Cox, who made his Tiger debut last week, looks to keep his strong play going. Cox posted a top-20 finish in his first ever collegiate tournament, posting round of 69-72-71 to finish T17 at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate.
3. Jeff Hall will make his season debut this week for the Tigers. Hall joins Brandon Bunn as the only two seniors to have competed for the Tigers this season. Last year, Hall was an integral part of the team, playing in seven tournaments and holding a scoring average of 76.3.
4. Jack Belote is making his third straight start for the Tigers. After struggling in his first event of the season, Belote bounced back last week at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate, carding rounds of 71-73-70 to claim a piece of 24th.
5. Lexus Kenoninh qualifies for the lineup again this week after missing out last week at the Sam Hall. At the Golfweek Conference Challenge, Keoninh posted rounds of 74-72 before struggling to a final round 84. His performance earned him a share of 61st place.
