Hilltoppers Enter Highly Ranked Field at Tiger Invitational

Sargent Video Interview | Easton Video Interview

OPELIKA, Ala. — WKU Hilltopper Golf will once again put itself to the test against top competition this coming week in Auburn's Tiger Invitational.

The Hilltoppers will face a field that features six teams in the Golfstat Top 100, as well as 11 programs in the top 120.

Sixteen total squads will compete Sunday through Tuesday at the par-72, 7,289-yard Grand National on the Lake Course. The tournament is being presented by PGA Tour pro and Auburn alumnus Jason Dufner.

The top-ranked teams in the field are SMU (6), Auburn (10), Arkansas State (21), Missouri (58), Kennesaw State (68) and UNC Wilmington (85). WKU is next at No. 102.

The Hilltoppers are coming off a third-place showing in the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate, which was shortened to two rounds because of inclement weather.

WKU finished behind No. 27 Louisville and No. 39 Florida State with its best 36-hole score since spring 2005.

"It was disappointing not being able to get out and get after those top two teams," senior Stuart Easton said. "I think we were playing really well and were definitely in the mood to take it low again, but the golf we played the first day was really encouraging. A lot of us played well, and we were up there competing, so definitely good signs for the start of the spring."

Easton, redshirt senior Billy Tom Sargent, redshirt junior Linus Lo, junior Tom Bevington and freshman Dominic Brettkelly will represent the Hilltoppers at Auburn.

What helped WKU to its fifth-best 36-hole score since 1980 in Mobile was consistency throughout the lineup. The top-three finishers recorded every round under par, while the highest counting score for the team was a 1-over 73.

"It's really good to see our hard work is paying off," Sargent said. "One thing we've always worked on is getting (double bogeys) and higher off the card. If you do that, you're going to shoot some low scores – also working on our short game and putting. We've been working on that quite a bit, and it's led to some low scores."

Teams will play 18 holes each day of the Tiger Invitational. WKU is slated to begin the first round at 7:50 a.m. CT Sunday with tee times.

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Players Mentioned

Tom Bevington

Dominic Brettkelly

Stuart Easton

Linus Lo

Billy Tom Sargent