Men’s golf concludes regular season in Arizona at Thunderbird Collegiate
TOURNAMENT: Thunderbird Collegiate
WHEN: Friday, April 16–Saturday, April 17
LOCATION: Phoenix, Arizona
COURSE: Papago Golf Course (Par 70, 7,319 yards)
FOLLOW: Live Scoring | Twitter @USFMGolf
TAMPA (Aril 15, 2021) – No. 29 USF men's golf travels to Phoenix this weekend for its final tune-up prior to the American Athletic Conference Championship set for April 23-25. This weekend's Thunderbird Collegiate is hosted by Arizona State University and will feature 16 teams playing 54 holes over two days at Papago Golf Course. Rounds one and two will be played on Friday, April 16 with the final round teeing off on Saturday.
No. 3 Oklahoma State headlines the 16-team field at the Thunderbird Collegiate. The host Sun Devils are ranked No. 12 in the latest
Golfstat national rankings, while No. 16 North Carolina and No. 20 Arizona will also compete in the desert this weekend. USF checks in at No. 29 this week and has been ranked as high as No. 23 this season.
The Thunderbird Collegiate is in its 48th year as an annual event. Arizona State has won as the hosting team 20 times.
THE BULLS
USF has recorded a top-10 team finish in all six of its outings this spring, including last time out at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational. The Bulls shot 10-under-par over the final two rounds in Augusta to finish at even par for the tournament and net a ninth-place finish.
The Bulls highest team finish to date was fifth place at the Valspar Invitational and USF's lowest team score came at the Florida Gators Invitational (828).
Albin Bergstrom (Falsterbo, Sweden) has led the Bulls in three of their six tournaments this year, collecting a pair of top-10 finishes. The sophomore has a team-best scoring average of 70.67 and a season-best 54-hole score of 204. Bergstrom has carded rounds of par or better in 12 of his 18 rounds.
Luke Gifford (Boca Raton) has paced USF at two events this spring and owns a scoring average of 71.78. The sophomore shot par in all three rounds last time out, raising his season total to 12 rounds of par or better. Gifford's 54-hole tournament low is 209 this season.
Sam Nicholson (Atlantic Beach) is averaging a 72.56 through six tournaments. The freshman has carded nine rounds of par or better with season lows of 67 (round) and 207 (tournament).
Kyle Flexsenhar (Lake Mary) is averaging a 72.82 and has shot par or better in seven of his 17 rounds.
Runchanapong Youprayong (Bangkok, Thailand) led USF at Augusta two weeks ago with season-low scores of 67 (round) and 215 (total) to tie for 25th individually. The freshman carries a scoring average of 73.28, and has shot a 71 or better in four of his last 10 rounds.
Those five golfers will comprise USF's lineup at the Thunderbird Collegiate this weekend.
Up Next
USF will serve as host for the 2021 American Athletic Conference Championship on April 23-25 at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla.
About USF Men's Golf
USF men's golf program has captured 16 conference titles and seen players earn 18 All-America honors. From 2015-18 the Bulls captured four consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship titles in wire-to-wire fashion, had three individual conference champions and have 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 since taking over the program in 2014. The Bulls have posted 19 tournament wins under Bradley entering the 2021 season, by far the most under any coach in program history.
Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.
- #GoBulls –
