The Washington State Cougars will travel to Greensboro, N. C. to participate in the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate tournament this weekend.

Teams will play three rounds on the East Course at Grandover Resort from Oct. 26 to 27. The course will play at par-72 and a total of 7,245 yards. Tee time will begin Saturday at 8:30 a.m. EDT and 36 holes will be played. On Sunday, the tournament ends with 18 holes. 

It has been more than two weeks since the men’s team swung their clubs. In the last tournament, the Firestone Invitational in Akron, the team went into the last round in first place only to fall to second with a team score of 9 strokes over par in the final result. Head Coach Garrett Clegg said he wasn’t pleased with the unexpected collapse.

“At first when we got back the team was pretty down,” Clegg said. “They were tired and it was towards the end of the fall and a long season. But with 15 days at home, they are really fired up now.”

The other teams who will join the Cougars at UNC-Greensboro include: Chattanooga, Georgia State, High Point, Iowa State, Memphis, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Purdue, VCU, Virginia Tech, and William & Mary.

Virginia Tech, North Carolina, North Carolina State, and Mississippi State all received votes in the top 25, according to the NCAA. However, Clegg seems very optimistic about the upcoming tournament.

“If we play good golf, and at the level we can play, we could win the tournament,” Clegg said. “That is what we play for.”

The Grandover Resort course’s unfamiliarity could be a challenge to for the Cougars, Clegg said. The climate will differ from the Northwest’s, the grass and tree lines will be unfamiliar, and the golf course will be very long.

“Our last trip was a 3-hour time change, but we played on a course that has the same feel and look as the golf courses in the Northwest,” Clegg said. “The Grandover Resort course will have a completely different look and feel than we are accustomed to seeing.”

The only experience the team had was using online images of the courses, but the team will get acclimated with it once they arrive, Clegg said.

The players participating in the tournament for WSU will be junior Michael Anderson, senior Jarrett Foote, redshirt junior Sang Lee, senior Blake Snyder, and sophomore Bhurinat Songpaiboon. 

Both Snyder and Anderson performed poorly in Akron for the Firestone Invitational. Snyder finished 6 strokes above par and Anderson finished 11 strokes over par, according to golfstat.com. Clegg said the Firestone Invitational was one of their worst performances in their collegiate careers and hopes those two can bounce back.

“Mike Anderson, Blake Snyder and Sang Lee are our top three golfers,” Clegg said. “They are the heart and soul of this team. How they play will determine whether we succeed or not.”

This will be the last tournament of the fall season until mid-February when the team travels to Hawaii. Live stats can be found at golfstat.com as well as on The Daily Evergreen sports Twitter, @EvergreenSports.