Aggie golfers look to continue successful fall at Drury Classic
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (Oct. 12) -- An opportunity to climb the regional and national rankings will be on the line for the Cameron men's golf team on Monday and Tuesday. The Aggies are one of 21 teams scheduled to take part in the Best Western/Deerfield Inn Drury Classic at two courses in Springfield.
Coach Jerry Hrnciar's squad, which hasn't competed since winning the team title in the varsity division of the Oklahoma Intercollegiate at the Lawton Country Club two weeks ago, will look for consistent success despite having an inconsistent lineup. The Aggies will have their fourth different starting lineup when Ryan King, Collin Garrett, Kolby Seals, Brad Aycock and Dusty Isabell tee off on Monday morning.
"Travis Lovins, one of our regular starters, could not make the trip this week, so I'm putting Brad and Dusty - our two freshman - in the lineup," Hrnciar said. "They both played extremely well in last week's tournament in Guymon."
In fact, both finished in the individual Top 5 in the Oklahoma Panhandle State Invitational at Guymon's Sunset Hills Golf Course last week. Isabell finished fourth overall, while Aycock recovered from six penalty strokes in the two-round event to win the individual medalist honors with a score of 4-under par.
Garrett, Seals and King also are coming off successful outings in their previous event. Garrett and Seals shared medalist honors at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate, finishing the three-round tournament with scores of 4-under par, as well. King was fourth in the event, finishing just two strokes off his teammates' pace.
The field in this week's Drury Classic should provide a competitive challenge for the Aggies. Cameron is one of four nationally ranked teams scheduled to compete in the event. Eighth-ranked Central Arkansas headlines the field, followed by 12th-ranked St. Mary's University and No. 14 Arkansas Tech. Hrnciar's Aggies are ranked No. 33.
"We will be among the favorites to win, even though there are teams there ranked above us," Hrnciar said. "Winning this tournament would be very big for us with most of the participating teams coming from within our super-regional."
Action begins on Monday at Hickory Hills Country Club, which is the former home course of late PGA star Payne Stewart. On Tuesday, teams will move across town to Highland Springs Country Club, which annually hosts the Ozark Open on the PGA Champions Tour circuit.
