USF men’s golf and Ohio State will host the two-day event that begins Monday at The Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Fla.
EVENT: The Challenge at Concession
DATES: Monday, March 9 (36 holes) – Tuesday, March 10 (18 holes)
SCHEDULE: 9 a.m. shotgun start each day
LOCATION: The Concession Golf Club, Bradenton, Fla.
COURSE INFO: Par 72, 7,470 yards
FOLLOW: Live scoring | Twitter @USFMGolf
BRADENTON, Fla., MARCH 8, 2020 – USF men’s golf returns to the site of the 2015 NCAA Championship to co-host The Challenge at Concession.
Head coach Steve Bradley’s Bulls and Ohio State share hosting duties for the two-day event that begins Monday with 36 holes at The Concession Golf Club (par 72, 7,470 yards). Both days of action begin with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.
The Concession Golf Club is a memorable destination for USF, which advanced to the match play quarterfinals for the first time in program history at the 2015 NCAA Championship site. USF made consecutive trips to the NCAA Championship rounds (2015-16) in Bradley’s first two seasons with the program.
USF heads back to Bradenton after posting consecutive third-place finishes to start the spring at the Florida Gators Invitational (Feb. 16) and Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate (March 3). The Challenge at Concession marks the second of three tournaments in a 16-day span for the Bulls. USF finishes up its busy stretch March 15-17 at the Valspar Invitational in Palm City, Fla.
The Challenge at Concession Field (ordered by seed)
Ohio State, No. 44 USF, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Dayton, Florida Gulf Coast, Lamar, Central Arkansas, Ohio, Cleveland State and High Point.
The Lineup
- Luke Gifford – The sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla., has placed 10th or better in five consecutive tournaments. Gifford leads the Bulls with a 70.67 season scoring average and 14 rounds or par or better, including eight performances in the 60s. Gifford tied for third the last time out at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate on March 3.
- Albin Bergstrom – The sophomore from Ljunghusen, Sweden ranks second on the team in season scoring average (71.33), rounds of par or better (11) and top-10 finishes (4). Bergstrom tied for eighth at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate and has placed in the top 25 in six of seven events.
- Kyle Flexsenhar – The senior from Lake Mary, Fla., returns to the lineup after tying for 15th place in a Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada qualifying tournament earlier this week at Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-In-The-Hills, Fla. Flexsenhar will be a tour member this summer after graduation.
- Runchanapong Youprayong – The freshman from Bangkok, Thailand has been solid with a 72.22 season scoring average through six events. Youprayong has earned two top-25 finishes, including a tie for 18th place at the Florida Gators Invitational on Feb. 16.
- Sam Nicholson – The freshman from Atlantic Beach, Fla., is back in the lineup after tying for 19th place as an individual at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate.
Individuals
- Massimo Mbetse – The sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., gets to tee off in the same city where he competed for Saint Stephen’s Episcopal School after moving to the United States from South Africa at age 13.
- Cole Castro – The junior from Homestead, Fla., will compete in consecutive events since returning from an injury.
- Anthony Muttillo – The sophomore from Boca Raton, Fla., will participate in his third event this season and first since the Georgia Southern Individual Collegiate at the beginning of February.
Quotable
Head coach Steve Bradley’s thoughts heading into the event at The Concession Golf Club:
“It’s going to be a great test of golf at an incredible golf course that’s in great shape. The thought for us in doing it and wanting to co-host with Ohio State is we’ve got an event next week that’s another solid test of golf and we thought it would be good preparation for that as well. We’ve got a chance in this tournament if we play well, which is great. We want to test our guys mentally and physically, and I think this golf course presents that challenge for us.”
Bradley on the program’s eagerness to jump back into competition following a third-place finish at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate on March 3:
“More than anything, I’m interested to see how we bounce back from last week. We were pretty disappointed after our finish and we’re looking to see how the guys respond.”
About USF Men’s Golf
USF men’s golf captured four consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship titles in wire-to-wire fashion prior to 2019 and has earned seven straight trips to NCAA Regionals. The program is led by Steve Bradley, who has been named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times. Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.
