FRANKLIN, Tenn. (April 2, 2015) – The ETSU men’s golf team returns to action this weekend as the 39th-ranked Buccaneers head to Nashville for the Mason Rudolph Championship, which begins Friday morning at the Vanderbilt Legends Club. 

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BUCS

Junior Gudmundur Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) won his first collegiate tournament as he fired a 17-under-par 199 (63-67-69) and he helped guide the Buccaneers to runner-up honors at the Seminole Intercollegiate two weeks ago in Tallahassee. 

Kristjansson, who tied ETSU’s single round score with a 9-under 63 in the opening round, held off a strong comeback by Florida State’s Jack Maguire and South Carolina’s Will Starke. Maguire pulled even with the Buccaneer junior late in the final round, but Kristjansson birdied two of his final three holes to earn medalist honors. 

Kristjansson’s 63 in the opening round was a course record at Southwood Golf Course, while he became the third ETSU golfer to score under 200 – Rhys Davies (199) and Seamus Power (198) – and his 17-under-par 199 marked a program record for a 54-hole score. 

As a team, ETSU finished second in a field that featured nine teams ranked in the top 50. The Bucs held the team lead following the first two rounds, but then-No. 2 Florida State charged back for the win. The Seminoles fired a 17-under 271 in the final round and defeated the Blue and Gold by three shots, 843-846. As a group, the Bucs tallied 52 birdies and tied with South Carolina for the most eagles with three. 

ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT

The three-day tournament will be held at the Vanderbilt Legends Club, which will be set up as a par-71, 7,100-yard layout. 

Eighteen holes will take place from Friday through Sunday, with fixed tee times on number one and 10 starting at 8:30 a.m. ET on every day of the tournament. 

Alabama returns to defend its title as the Crimson TIde defeated tournament host, Vanderbilt, by nine strokes last year, 847 to 856. 

ETSU is making its third appearance in the Mason Rudolph Championship as the Bucs finished sixth last year and 11th in 2013. 

Junior Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) led the Bucs with a top-10 finish in 2014. Meronk, who has led ETSU in eight of its nine tournaments this year, shot a 1-over-par 214 and finished tied for ninth last year.

TOURNAMENT FIELD

Joining ETSU and Vanderbilt in the tournament field are Alabama, Ball State, College of Charleston, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kennesaw State, Louisville, Mercer, Notre Dame and SMU. 

Seven teams are ranked in the top-50, highlighted by fifth-ranked Vanderbilt. Joining the Commodores are No. 11 Georgia Tech, No. 21 Kennesaw State, No. 24 SMU, No. 39 ETSU (Golfweek), No. 39 Georgia Southern (Golfstat) and No. 48 Louisville. 

Individually, nine golfers are ranked in the top-50 – Vanderbilt’s Hunter Stewart (No. 4), Kramer Hickok (No. 44 Golfstat) and Matthias Schwab (No. 44 Golfweek), Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schniederjans (No. 8), ETSU’s Adrian Meronk (No. 20), SMU’s Bryson Dechambeau (No. 27 Golfweek), Kennesaw State’s Teremoana Beaucousin (No. 27 Golfstat) and Jimmy Beck (No. 33), and Georgia Southern’s Scott Wolfes (No. 32). 

ETSU’S LINEUP

Joining, Kristjansson and Meronk in ETSU’s line up are Mateusz Gradecki (Oborniki Slaskie, Poland), Tom Heggarty (Cheshire, England) and Rhys Pugh (Pontypridd, Wales). 

ETSU’s lineup features two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore. 

Freshman Cayman Ratliff (Kingsport, Tenn.) will play as an individual. 

The Bucs will be grouped with Louisville and Ball State on Friday and tee off from No. 1 at 8:30 a.m. (ET). 

COVERAGE

Live scoring of the tournament can be accessed via Golfstat. 

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today! 

For more information on Buccaneer men’s golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s golf page.