Longview, Texas - The Centenary men's golf team opens its spring season on Monday in the 2022 Pinecrest Invitational hosted by LeTourneau University at the Pinecrest Country Club.
The event begins with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. as the Gents will play a par-71, 6,541-yard course layout. Monday will feature 36 holes of action followed by the final 18 holes on Tuesday.
Centenary will be joined by the host YellowJackets and 13 other schools - East Texas Baptist University, Hendrix College, Schreiner University, Tyler Junior College, Jacksonville College, Murray State, University of Houston-Victoria, Central College, Dallas Christian College, Concordia University, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Louisiana Christian University, and McMurry University.
Centenary's lineup this week will consist of senior Harrison John (Lafayette, La.), sophomore Ricky Blair (Bossier City, La.), sophomore Drew Bennett (Bossier City, La.), junior Richard Polan (Brno, Czech Republic), junior Devan Martin (Watson, La.), and freshman Tyler Jones (Stonewall, La.).
The Gents are in action for the first time since recording a 10th-place finish at the University of Dallas Crusader Invitational at the WinStar Golf Course in Thackerville, Okla. in October.
Bennett earned the Gents' top finish as he tied for 35th place after shooting an 11-over par 155. He shot a final-round three-over 75 following an eight-over par 80in round one. Martin lowered his score from the first round by six shots as he recorded a 4-over 76 in the final round to finish in a tie for 47th place and earned the third top-50 finish of his career. The Gents shot a 19-over par 307 in the final round after posting a 32-over par 320 in the opening round and finished at 51-over par 627 for the tournament.
John tied for 55th place at 17-over par after shooting 80-81 – 161. Blair shot the Gents' lowest first-round score as he turned in a 6-over par 78 and recorded an 85 in the final round to place in a tie for 60th at 19-over par 163. Jones shot a 46-over par 190 to finish 84th. Polan shot a 75 in round two after missing the first round.
The Gents finished eighth in the Mary Hardin-Baylor Fall Invitational in Temple, Texas back in September in their first tournament of the season where Polan was the Gents' top finisher as he shot a final-round 3-over par 73 to tie for 16th place. He shot a 2-over 72 in the opening round. Polan has now earned a top-20 finish in seven of his last eight tournaments. John finished in a tie for 31st place after shooting an 8-over 78 in the final round after a 2-over par 72 in round one.
Blair shot a final-round 5-over 75 preceded by a 7-over 77 to finish at 12-over par 152 and in a tie for 35th place. Bennett and Martin finished 58th and 59th as Bennett shaved 16 strokes off his first-round score of 91 to shoot a 5-over 75 in the final round and finish at 26-over par 166. Martin shot 87-90 for a 37-over 177 total. Jones also shot a lower score in the final round after an opening round 101 as he turned in a 20-over 90. He placed 61st after shooting a 51-over par 191 total.
Centenary finished fifth in last season's Pinecrest Invitational as Polan highlighted the tournament as he tied for the individual lead after the final round and then lost to Houston-Victoria's Max Schliesing in a five-hole playoff for the individual title. Both players parred the first hole (#1 – par 3/190 yards) and both bogeyed hole number 10 (par 4/410 yards) to remain tied after the first two playoff holes. After Polan and Schliesing matched each other with a birdie and a par on No. 11 and No. 1 respectively, Schliesing made par on No. 10 while Polan bogeyed.
Polan shot 68-73-72 – 213 (even par) for the two-day event which included the new career-low round of 68 in round one and Polan and Schliesing were the only two individuals to finish below par. John finished in a tie for 16th at 14-over 227 as he also shot even-par 71 in the final round and Blair finished in a tie for 45th place at 35-over 248 (80-86-82). Polan was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Golfer of the Week following his stellar performance.
The Gents will next be in action on March 21-22 as they host the annual Hal Sutton Invitational at the Golf Club at Stonebridge in Bossier City.
See the Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mgolf/2021-22/schedule
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