Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational returns to the Coast in October
SAUCIER, Miss. (WXXV)- With college golf programs releasing their schedules for the upcoming season, some of the nation’s top teams are getting ready to head to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational returns this October, bringing together 15 top programs for three days of competition.
WXXV News 25’s Everett Ganier Jr. has more.
The fourth annual Fallen Oak Collegiate Invitational is set for October 16 through the 19 with 15 teams from across the country making the field.
Nine of those programs are ranked in Golf Channel’s preseason top 30, including six in the top 20.
Mississippi’s three universities, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Southern Miss, will once again host the NCAA event. Ole Miss Head Coach Chris Malloy said, “It’s a week we look forward to the entire year; it’s an event we’ve grown from scratch so our guys and the other teams look forward to getting down here. I’d be lying if I didn’t say the food wasn’t a big part of it but just the southern hospitality, Mississippi Gulf Coast really comes and shines throughout this whole week. The event has gotten better every year. It’s funny the first year we were almost begging teams to come try it out and now we have all of the top teams in the country begging us to have the opportunity to come. It really is the PGA Tour’s next generation that you’re going to see this week. It truly is the best of the best so if you want to catch the PGA Tour’s next generation you can see it right here in your own backyard.”
The field also features programs like Alabama, LSU, Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee, and Wake Forest.
The tournament will be placed on the Tom Fazio designed Fallen Oak course, which previously hosted a PGA Tour Champions event for more than a decade. “We have so much going on and it starts on that Friday with College AM and the sponsors are playing with a select number of some of these different teams. It’s one big party; it’s a really relaxed atmosphere, amazing food. Saturday is the 1st round with a big screen with the biggest college football games that are on that day. So, some people are watching golf and some people are watching some football but they are having a good time. And Sunday during the second round we have the NFL games on out here. So, there is so much to do than just the golf. Certainly, golf is the focal point but even if you’re not a big golfer, I’d recommend to come on out.”
The three-day competition begins Saturday, October 17 and wraps up Monday, October 19.
