Georgia Northwestern Spring Golf Preview

There may still be a chill in the air, but for the Georgia Northwestern Bobcats golf team, it's nearly time to tee it up once more.

After a solid fall season, the Bobcats will compete in three warm-up tournaments in March, while setting their sights on the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association (GCAA) Division III tournament in mid-April.

"We have a very competitive schedule this spring," head coach Jared Willerson said. "Our guys have been working hard all winter and we can't wait to get after it."

Georgia Northwestern will lead off with the Doublegate Invitational, hosted by Darton College, in Albany on March 2-3. The tournament will be held at the Stonebridge Golf and Country Club, which will also serve as the site for the GCAA tournament.

"It will tell the tale of what we need to do down there this April," Willerson said. "It will be our first tournament right off the bat and it will be an important one to see where we stand."

Two weeks later, the Bobcats will head to The Oaks Course in Covington for the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD-Atlanta) Spring Invitational. The tournament will run March 16-17.

"It's the same school and same course we played in the fall," he said. "We had some success there so hopefully we'll go down there, replicate that success and improve on it."

Glen Lakes Golf Course in Foley, Ala. will be the site for the Bobcats' third event of the spring as they will take part in the Faulkner State Invitational. The tournament, located near the beaches of Gulf Shores, will also allow the Bobcat players to catch up with a familiar face.

"Former LaFayette High School (state champion) P.J. Shields is playing for them," Willerson explained. "It will be nice to get together with him for a while."

The three March tournaments will be the lead-in for the GCAA Division III tournament back at Stonebridge in Albany on April 13-15.

For the Bobcats, the mission will be a simple one - beat Georgia Military College.

"We have to beat (GMC)," Willerson explained. "If we do that, we go to the national tournament in (Jamestown, NY) first week of June."

The Bobcats will be led by sophomores Grant Allen and Drew Tankersley, while freshmen Chase Cole, Jordan Estes, Lanier Guest and Keaton Stanfield round out the squad.