Bulls Embrace Action-Packed Schedule That Will Test Them Often
USF men’s golf begins its highly anticipated regular season Jan. 25-26 at the Timaquana Collegiate in Jacksonville, Fla.
USF SEASON SCHEDULE
TAMPA, JAN. 12, 2021 – If all goes to plan, head coach Steve Bradley’s USF men’s golf program will perhaps be the most prepared it has ever been for the postseason thanks to an eight-tournament slate that will test the Bulls early and often this spring.
“I think we’ve managed to put together the best schedule that we have faced in the seven years that I’ve been here,” Bradley said. “I’m extremely excited about the opportunity ahead of us. It’s certainly going to be challenging. I’m looking forward to watching us compete. I’m looking forward to watching us get knocked around a little bit, but also how we respond to that.”
USF knows it has to play well right out of the gates at the Timaquana Collegiate Jan. 25-26 in Jacksonville, Fla. The field is expected to feature Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma State and UCF along with hosts North Florida and Jacksonville.
High-level team competition continues Feb. 12-14 in Gainesville at the Florida Gators Invitational, which the Bulls won in 2015 and 2016. Adding another title to the trophy case would be extra special considering this season’s field will include 12 of 14 programs from the SEC.
“I’m looking forward to that challenge at a golf course we’re familiar with and have had some success at,” Bradley said. “To have an opportunity to play 19 other teams is going to be great for us.”
More big-name opponents await the Bulls at Florida State’s Seminole Intercollegiate Feb. 19-21 in Tallahassee.
From there, USF gets a bit of a break from tournament action to prepare for the prestigious Valspar Invitational scheduled for March 15-16 in Palm City, Fla. The event held at Floridian National Golf Club has been popular on the Bulls’ past schedules for a very good reason.
“The Valspar is traditionally one of the top five events in all of college golf,” Bradley said. “Even though it has lost some of the field this year, it will continue to have an incredible field and will still probably be one of the best in all of college golf.”
USF will stay in the Sunshine State to take part in The Hayt March 28-29 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach. This will mark the first time the Bulls have competed in the event during Bradley’s time with the program.
“It’s a great golf course and at that time of year can pose some windy, challenging conditions near Jacksonville,” Bradley said.
The Bulls will continue to tune up for the postseason at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational, which will be held April 3-4 at Forest Hills Golf Course in Georgia.
USF will get a sneak peek at some potential NCAA Championship-type conditions April 16-17 at the Thunderbird Collegiate in Phoenix. Nearby Scottsdale, Ariz., is the location for the NCAA Championship slated to begin May 28 at Grayhawk Golf Club.
“The Thunderbird Collegiate might actually be one of the best events in college golf this year. You get a chance to go play desert golf and the national championship is in the desert for the next three years,” Bradley said. “It’s a chance for our guys to see desert golf this year in April, hopefully five, six weeks before the national championship, which would be a great tournament warmup for us.”
Following the regular season finale, USF will look to capture its fifth league title since 2015 at the American Athletic Conference Championship. Action is scheduled for April 23-25 at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla.
“It’s nice to be able to go compete on a championship-level golf course,” Bradley said. “A decent amount of our guys are familiar with it. We’ve played it in the past. I think that’s maybe a little bit of an advantage for us.”
Speaking of the roster, Bradley is happy to have his top seven student-athletes from last season returning, including senior leader Kyle Flexsenhar (Lake Mary, Fla.), 2019 All-American Albin Bergstrom (Ljunghusen, Sweden) and Luke Gifford (Boca Raton, Fla.), a 2020 Division I PING All-Southeast Region selection.
The Bulls got practices underway Monday and officially welcomed freshman Luc Breuer, a two-time German championship winner in his age group and a member of Germany’s junior national team.
Together, USF will be looking to build momentum right away this spring after completing the shortened 2019-20 season with a wire-to-wire win at The Challenge at Concession last March.
“I felt this team was getting hot at the end of the spring last year when everything shut down, Bradley said. “I’m looking forward to seeing if we can pick up where we left off, even though it’s 10 months later.”
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.
