SSC Golf Championship to Tee Off at The Concession April 16-17
BRADENTON, Fla. - The 2012 Sunshine State Conference Golf Championship will be held April 16-17 at The Concession in Bradenton, Fla. All nine SSC member institutions will field teams in both men's and women's competition. The University of Tampa is serving as host for this year's tournament.
Play will begin on Monday morning, with 36 holes slated for opening-day action. The champions will be crowned after the final 18 holes are played on Tuesday. Complete results will be available on the SSC website, as well as the Golf Stat site, www.golfstat.com. A recap will be posted on the conference site following each day of play.
Both tournaments promise to be an exciting affair, with nine conference men's and women's teams ranked in the latest Top 25 polls.
On the women's side, five SSC teams are among the top 10 teams in Division II. Nova Southeastern is currently the top-ranked team in the country, with Florida Southern sitting in the No. 2 slot. Lynn is ranked No. 4, followed closely by Barry at No. 6. Saint Leo is No. 9 in the latest poll.
Nova Southeastern has placed in the top five in seven of its eight tournaments this season. NSU notched first-place finishes at its own Shark Invitational and at the Peggy Kirk Bell Invitational. The squad also finished tied for second in this week's Hoya Invitational, which featured 10 Division I teams in the 11-school field.
Florida Southern has finished in the top 10 in all eight of its tournaments this year. The Moccasins opened the season by winning the Daytona State Invitational and have since logged a runner-up showing in five events.
Lynn has also had an impressive 2011-12 campaign, with a top-five showing in eight of its nine events. The Fighting Knights placed first at the Flagler Fall Slam, the Kiawah Island Intercollegiate, and the Embry-Riddle Invitational.
Barry has tallied a top-10 finish in all eight of its tournaments. The Buccaneers opened the year by winning the Queens Invitational and have placed first at their last two events, the Hargett Memorial Invitational and a tri-match against conference foes Lynn and Florida Tech.
Saint Leo has turned in seven top-10 showings in eight tournaments, with a win coming at its own SLU Invitational. The Lions were runner-up at the Queens Invitational.
On the men's side, three SSC teams are among the top five in the latest coaches' poll.
Barry holds the No. 1 ranking , having finished top five in all nine of its tournaments, including a top-three standing in eight of those nine. The Buccaneers have three victories to their credit, placing atop the leader board at the Shark Invitational, the Bobcat Intercollegiate, and their own Buccaneer Invitational. They have placed as the runner-up at four other tournaments this season.
Lynn currently sits in the No. 2 spot in the national rankings, registering a top-five performance in all 10 of its tournaments. The Knights placed first at the Sandestin Collegiate and at the Donald Ross Intercollegiate. They were second at the Cougar Invitational.
Nova Southeastern occupies the No. 4 ranking in the DII poll. The Sharks have finished among the top five in all eight of their events. Team wins came at the Queens Invitational and the St. Edward's Invitational. The squad was runner-up at its own Shark Invitational and at the Bobcat Intercollegiate.
The SSC Championship will be conducted at The Concession, a course designed by Jack Nicklaus in association with Tony Jacklin. The course derives its name from an historic interaction between the two men. On the final hole of the 1969 Ryder Cup Match at Royal Birkdale in England, Nicklaus stunned the golf world by conceding a two-foot putt to Jacklin for the first of only two ties in Ryder Cup history. Today, that gesture is considered one of the finest acts of sportsmanship in golf history and has inspired one of America's great golf clubs, The Concession.
The Concession is an 18-hole, par 72 course that totals 7,474 yards and runs three miles from tip to tip. Upon its completion, it was named "Best New Private Course" in 2006 by Golf Digest. In 2011-12, that same publication ranked it the fourth-best course in the state of Florida.