Arkansas opens season at Pebble Beach again

FAYETTEVILLE — For the fourth straight year, Arkansas will open its fall season at historic Pebble Beach Golf Club, taking part in the seventh annual Carmel Cup.

Ranked No. 33 in the Golfstat preseason poll and receiving votes in the Preseason Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll, the Razorbacks return their top six players from a season ago and will send them all to the season-opening tournament in California.

Unlike traditional collegiate tournaments, the Carmel Cup format features six players per team with the top five counting scores contributing to each round’s total.

In golf’s version of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, four programs from each league make up the field that features three of the top six teams in the country.

Live hole-by-hole scoring for all three rounds is available at Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.

Returning for his sophomore campaign, Mason Overstreet recorded the second-best finish in program history last season, finishing runner-up at the NCAA National Championship as an individual to earn PING All-America honorable mention honors from the Golf Coaches Association of America.

He became the second player in school history to finish inside the top five at the National Championship and was a combined 5-under in three postseason events.

As the only upperclassmen on the traveling squad, senior Alvaro Ortiz and junior Charles Kim will look to capitalize on their experience, combining to play in 53 events, five NCAA Regionals and two NCAA National Championships.

Both players recorded victories during their sophomore seasons and Ortiz finished runner-up at Pebble Beach last season at 12-under.

Coach Brad McMakin enters his 12th season at the helm of the program and has led Arkansas to 10 straight NCAA Regional bids and five NCAA Championship appearances.

He has guided the Razorbacks to 24 tournament titles, including 19 during the last seven years, averaging over 2.7 wins per season.

Arkansas will tee off Friday morning starting at 10 a.m. CT with Vanderbilt, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.

The Rundown
Schedule: Sept. 1-3 | 54 holes, 18 each day
Course: Pebble Beach Golf Club
Yardage: 6,828 – Par 72
Format: Play 6, count 5

Razorback Lineup
1. Mason Overstreet, So.
2. Luis Garza, So.
3. Alvaro Ortiz, Sr.
4. Charles Kim, Jr.
5. William Buhl, So.
6. Dylan Naidoo, So.

The Field
No. 33 Arkansas
No. 31 Georgia
No. 57 Ohio State
No. 6 Oklahoma
No. 3 Oklahoma State
No. 14 Texas Tech
No. 60 TCU
No. 1 Vanderbilt