General Hackler Collegiate Golf Championship Attracts Top Teams, Stars to Myrtle Beach

One of the most prestigious college golf tournaments in the nation will be held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, this spring as the 17th Annual General Hackler Collegiate Golf Championship comes to town. Some of the top-ranked college golfers and teams will tee it up at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club on March 10-11.

Two of the top-five-ranked teams in the country will lead the field of 15 college teams – No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 Georgia Tech – as well as SEC power programs No. 10 LSU and No. 19 Kentucky. East Carolina, East Tennessee State, Kent State, Liberty, North Carolina State, North Florida, Princeton, South Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and host Coastal Carolina round out the talent-rich field, which also includes several of the top-ranked individuals.

North Carolina State’s Stephen Franken, North Florida’s Philip Knowles, Georgia Tech’s Jacob Joiner, LSU’s Jacob Bergeron and Florida’s Gordon Neale, all of whom are ranked among the nation’s top 50 individual players, are participating in the tournament, according to GolfStat.com’s final fall rankings. These players and Georgia Tech’s Andy Ogletree, Tyler Strafaci and Noah Norton; Texas A&M’s Andrew Paysse and Josh Gliege; Kentucky’s Lukas Euler and Tyler McDaniel; LSU’s Luis Gagne, Trey Winstead and Philip Barbaree; South Carolina’s Scott Stevens; and Kent State’s Ian Holt give the tournament field 17 of the top 100 golfers in the nation.

The General Hackler Collegiate Golf Championship not only offers the best college golfers the chance to compete against quality competition on one of Myrtle Beach’s most recognized courses in The Dunes Golf & Beach Club, it also gives fans the opportunity to see some of the future stars of the PGA Tour in action before they become famous. Past participants include the current No. 1-ranked golfer in the world, former Coastal Carolina two-time All-American Dustin Johnson, and fellow PGA Tour members Bill Haas of Wake Forest, Brendon de Jonge of Virginia Tech, and Patrick Reed of Augusta State.

Last year’s General Hackler Collegiate Golf Championship was one for the record books as Wake Forest’s Will Zalatoris hit an incredible wedge shot on the 18th hole for birdie to give the Demon Deacons the team title and earn the then-junior his first medalist honor of the year. The two previous events also saw the overall medalists lead their respective teams to victory – South Carolina’s Matthew NeSmith in 2016, and North Florida’s Joey Petronio in 2015. In 2014, Coastal Carolina’s Andrew Dorn held home course advantage for the individual title, becoming the only Chanticleer to win the home tournament.

The General Hackler Collegiate Golf Championship will once again be held at the prestigious Dunes Golf & Beach Club, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean on the north end of Myrtle Beach. The Robert Trent Jones layout has hosted several professional tour events since its 1949 opening. Recent renovations were performed by Robert’s son Rees Jones, who remained true to his father’s original design. There’s not a bad spot on the course to watch, although galleries tend to gravitate toward the double-dogleg No. 13 “Waterloo” that wraps around Lake Singleton and dares golfers to hit across the gator-filled water hazard.

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club course is one of more than 80 championship courses on the Grand Strand, and the General Hackler Collegiate Golf Championship provides a great opportunity to both play and watch some top-level golf. Book a spring golf package for the same time as the tournament so you can take turns between watching the best and brightest compete, and showing off some skills of your own by booking a Myrtle Beach golf package. Click on the Golf Packages tab at MyrtleBeachGolf.com for more information on the best rates available on greens fees and accommodations, and visit goccusports.com for more tourney info.

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