CCU

Coastal Men's Golf Hosts 9th Annual General Hackler Championship

17-team field will play 36 holes Sunday (Mar. 13) and 18 Monday (Mar. 14)

       

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March 10, 2011

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CONWAY - For the ninth consecutive spring, the Coastal Carolina men's golf program will host the nationally-renown General Jim Hackler Championship at TPC of Myrtle Beach Mar. 13-14 (Sunday-Monday).

Joining Coastal Carolina will be defending NCAA Champion Augusta State while a total of 10 teams participated in last year's NCAA Regionals, including three (North Florida, Tennessee and Virginia) that advanced to the NCAA Championships.

The complete ninth-annual General Hackler Championship field includes host Coastal Carolina, Auburn, Augusta State, Charleston Southern, College of Charleston, East Carolina, East Tennessee State, Gardner-Webb, Lamar, North Florida, Pepperdine, Presbyterian ,Tennessee, USC Upstate, Virginia, Wake Forest and Western Carolina.

The event un-officially begins Saturday (Mar. 12) with the annual College-Am, teeing off between 8:59-9:23 am as eight teams of four will play with a Chanticleer during his practice round. The 17-team field will play 36 holes on Sunday and play a final 18 holes Monday to determine 2011 champion.

Of the 17 teams in the 2011 General Hackler Championship, 12 appear in the Golf Week/Sagarin top 100 team rankings, including #8 Auburn, #15 Augusta State, #18 Virginia, #25 Wake Forest, #35 Pepperdine, #38 Tennessee, #48 East Carolina, #49 North Florida, #58 Coastal Carolina, #70 Lamar, #90 East Tennessee State and #96 College of Charleston.

Golfstat ranks teams based on record and includes three teams in the nation's top 25. Augusta State ranks 10th with a 2010-11 season record of 292-9 and is 14-9 versus the nation's top 25 while winning four events this season. Virginia comes in a 12th with a 2010-11 season mark of 290-11 with one team win and a 12-10 ledger over the top 25. North Florida is ranked 22nd, posting a 280-21 record to date and winning twice, while Tennessee is 25th with a 275-26 season record and posting a pair of team wins as well.

Coastal Carolina is ranked 56th in Golfstat with a season record of 237-64. Others in the Golfstat top 100 are East Tennessee State at 31st (269-32), Pepperdine at 34th (267-3), Wake Forest at 35th (267-34), Auburn at 41st (261-40), East Carolina at 69th (234-67)and Lamar at 76th (225-76).

Three of the nation's top 25 individual players, as ranked by Golfstat, will be in the 2011 Hackler field, including Auburn's Blayne Barber (6th), Pepperdine's Andrew Putnam (13th) and Auburn's Michael Herbert (22nd).

In the Golf Week/Sagarin Rankings, the Hackler field includes 10 of the nation's top 50 golfers, including Augusta State's Patrick Reed (6th), Barber (9th), Augusta State's Henrik Norlander (16th), Wake Forest's Even Beck (19th), Herbert (24th), Putnam (26th), Tennessee's Robin Wingarth, Virginia's Ben Kohles (35th), North Florida's Kevin Phelan (47th) and Auburn's Niclas Carlsson (49th).

East Tennessee State is the defending 2010 General Hackler Champion and the Bucs won the team title in 2006 as well. Coastal Carolina won the 2005 title, finished runner-up in 2006, '07 and '10 and placed among the top five in each of the last six seasons. Wake Forest won the team championship in 2008 and '09 with Lamar winning in 2007 and Pepperdine in 2004.

The General Hackler Championship is named in honor of the late United States Air Force General James F. Hackler, Jr., a long-time supporter of Chanticleer golf. Coastal Carolina also has previously honored Hackler with the naming of the Coastal men's and women's golf program's Hackler Trophy. The trophy is awarded annually to the individual chosen on an established record of academic achievement, dedicated to the ideals of citizenship, devotion to preserving the integrity in the playing of the game of golf, and abilities as a golfer with special emphasis on the scholar-athlete's sportsmanship and attitude toward fulfilling his or her potential in the game.