Elite Field set for Southern Highlands Collegiate
3/6/2017 | by Sam Dostaler of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Southern Highlands Collegiate, Southern Highlands Golf Club
Teeing off Monday the Southern Highlands provides one of the best fields of the season featuring six of the top-10 teams in the country
Set to begin on Monday the event boasts a roster of programs that includes three of the top four and six of the top-10 teams in the country.
Hosted by No. 23 UNLV at Southern Highlands Golf Club the 54-hole event offers a number of intriguing story lines. Can No. 4 USC repeat as team champion? Can Florida sophomore Sam Horsfield win medalist honors for a second consecutive year? Or will Stanford's Maverick McNealy pick up the 12th individual win of his illustrious Cardinal career and set the program record?
These potential story lines are just the tip of the ice burg for this years Southern Highlands.
PLAYERS TO WATCH| Name | Team | |
| Maverick McNealy (Sr.) | Stanford | |
| Sean Crocker (Jr.) | USC | |
| Collin Morikawa (So.) | California | |
| Dylan Meyer (Jr.) | Illinois | |
| Rico Hoey (Sr.) | USC | |
| Jared du Toit (Sr.) | Arizona State | |
| Sahith Theegala (So.) | Pepperdine | |
| Viraat Badhwar (Sr.) | Stanford | |
| Nick Hardy (Jr.) | Illinois | |
| Sam Horsfield (So.) | Florida | |
| Shintaro Ban (Jr.) | UNLV |
The highest ranked team in the field is No. 2 Florida, followed by No. 3 Illinois and then of course the Trojans. No. 6 Oklahoma State enters the week fresh off a win at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and a second consecutive victory could propel them to top spot in the next rankings. The top-10 representation is rounded out by No. 7 Texas Tech and No. 8 Stanford.
Along with host UNLV, the the elite field also includes No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 15 San Diego State plus Arizona State, California, New Mexico, recent Southwestern Invitational champions Pepperdine, SMU and TCU.
CONFERENCE BREAK DOWN| Conference | Programs Present | |
| Pac 12 | 5 | |
| Big 12 | 3 | |
| Mountain West | 3 | |
| American | 1 | |
| Big 10 | 1 | |
| SEC | 1 | |
| West Coast | 1 |
Throughout the week play will begin with tee times at 9:00 a.m. PST from Nos. 1 and 10. Southern Highlands Golf Club is a par-72 7,510 yard layout that was co-designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Robert Trent Jones Jr.
About the Southern Highlands Collegiate
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by UNLV. Team (best four scores of five players each day) and individual competitions.
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