Blessings, UA to host college tournament
FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas has teamed with its home course, Blessings Golf Club, and Tyson Foods to hold a college golf tournament this fall.
The season-opening event, called the Blessings Collegiate Invitational, is scheduled for Oct. 5-7.
The tournament is expected to include the men’s and women’s programs for all SEC schools. The Golf Channel reported Tuesday that the Vanderbilt Legends College, set for Oct. 25-27, and the
Jerry Pate Intercollegiate, at Vestavia Hills, Ala., on Nov. 9-10, will be the other two SEC golf events for the fall.
The invitational is another big opportunity for the UA and Northwest Arkansas, much like the NCAA
Golf Championships held at Blessings in
May 2019. The tournament will be broadcast live on the Golf Channel each day from 3:30-6:30 p.m. Central.
The 54-hole tournament will feature medalist honors for the men and women, and awards for the best team scores for both fields.
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic there had been uncertainty surrounding previously scheduled college tournaments across the country, but the SEC recently announced it would hold limited fall scheduling in sports such as golf and tennis, whose main seasons are held in the spring. The SEC’s uniform coronavirus protocols made it more likely to schedule SEC-only types of events, such as what happened with the 10-game conference-only football schedule.
“I couldn’t be more excited to kickstart the 2020-21 season here at home at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational,” Arkansas women’s Coach Shauna Taylor said in a statement. “After this six-month layoff from college golf due to COVID-19, it is going to be amazing to compete at home and to share it with Razorback Nation via the Golf Channel.”
Taylor and UA men’s Coach Brad McMakin both expressed their appreciation for Tyson’s support for Razorbacks golf.
“We cannot wait to open this season and play it at home at one of the finest venues in America with the best programs in the country,” McMakin said in a statement. “We didn’t get to defend our SEC title this past spring so it is fitting that the BCI, with a field of just league teams, will be our first event of 2020-21.”