Blue Raiders return to historic Schenkel Invitational

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men's golf heads back to the Schenkel Invitational this weekend. The three-day tournament hosted by Georgia Southern at the par-72, 7,123-yard Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Ga. from March 17-19.

The Blue Raiders are coming a sixth-place finish at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate, where Owen Stamper emerged with the first victory of his career. The junior shot a 205 (-11) for his third top-two finish of 2022-23.

At last year's Schenkel Invitational, MTSU finished 10th with a team score of 876 (+12).

WEATHER FORECAST
The forecast for the tournament shows cloudy conditions with an elevated chance of rain on Saturday.

NOTES

Stamper's 205 (-11) at the Lake Las Vegas Invitational was a new career low. As of March 14, he is the No. 62 player in Division I according to Golfweek and No. 85 per Golfstat.
Stamper leads the Blue Raiders with a scoring average of 70.5.
Markus Varjun and Stamper have combined for five Conference USA Player of the Week awards, the most in a season since MTSU joined the league.
Kevin Jegers recorded individual victories in back-to-back tournaments in 2021-22, each time setting the program 54-hole record.
Michael Barnard's 65 in the third round of last year's Trinity Forest Invitational was the lowest of his career and tied for the fifth-lowest individual round in program history. His 54-hole score of 208 is tied for 22nd.
MTSU returns three of its four players who played in 30 rounds or more in '21-22, including Barnard, Jegers, and Owen Stamper.
The four newcomers to the '22-23 roster include Power 5 transfers Drew Miller (Ole Miss) and Tate Heintzelman (Indiana), and true freshman Sheldon McKnight and Luke Perkins.
Also joining the Blue Raider program are former letterman Payne Denman, who returns as an assistant coach, and former MTSU tennis player Chris Edge, who will serve as a graduate assistant.
The Blue Raiders enter the tournament ranked No. 81 in the Golfweek Collegiate Team Rankings and No. 69 in the most recent Golfstat rankings.

COACH'S COMMENTS: MARK MCENTIRE
"This is my favorite tournament of the year! Our players always look forward to Schenkel week. This golf course is a tremendous test and among the best hospitality in college golf."

LINEUP
1. Owen Stamper
2. Michael Barnard
3. Gavin Clements
4. Kevin Jegers
5. Markus Varjun
Ind. - Luke Perkins

TOURNAMENT INFO

	Schenkel Invitational
Dates	Friday, March 17 - Sunday, March 19
Course	Forest Heights Country Club Statesboro, Ga. Par 72, 7,123 yards
Format	18 holes each day
Teams (14)	Army, Campbell, Central Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Kentucky Georgia Southern, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, North Florida, Notre Dame, UAB, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Live Scoring	Golfstat

Middle Tennessee State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Michael Barnard

Gavin Clements

Tate Heintzelman

Kevin Jegers

Sheldon McKnight

Luke Perkins

Owen Stamper

Markus Varjun

Related Videos