ASUN men's golf: Five things to know as UNF, JU travel to Alabama's Magnolia Grove
The University of North Florida men’s golf team is vying for a fourth ASUN championship in five years when they open their title defense on Tuesday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Magnolia Grove Crossings Course — the first time the men’s ASUN tournament has been played in Alabama since 2001.
UNF won its seventh ASUN title last year at the University of Georgia Golf Course, and junior Nick Gabrelcik was the individual champion. The Ospreys won their previous ASUN titles title in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018 and 2019 at the Chateau Elan Legends Course in Braselton, Ga.
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Here are five things to know about UNF’s bid for an eighth conference title and a 13th NCAA tournament berth:
1. Another UNF vs. Liberty battle?
The Ospreys and Liberty have combined to win the last four ASUN titles and they’ve battled to a draw this season in the conference’s top rivalry. UNF has finished ahead of the Flames in four tournaments, and Liberty has finished ahead of the Ospreys in four. In their most recent meeting, at the Mason Rudolph Championship hosted by Vanderbilt, UNF was fifth and Liberty seventh.
Liberty is a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts. The Flames’ highest-ranked player is Jonathan Yaun at No. 161 on Golfweek. But they’re ranked 36th in the nation on Golfweek and 39th by Golfstat, with UNF 41st on Golfweek and 42nd on Golfstat.
2. Who could be a surprise contender?
After the Ospreys and Flames, there’s a subset of three ASUN teams whose cumulative rankings are virtually identical: Lipscomb, Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson.
Those three, in order, are ranked Nos. 81, 82 and 83 by Golfweek. The next highest-ranked team is North Alabama (109).
“If we don’t play well or if Liberty doesn’t play well, either of those teams can step right in and contend,” UNF coach Scott Schroeder said.
3. Gabrelcik on the verge
Since winning the ASUN individual title last season for a team-record six tournament victories, Gabrelcik has shared medalist in the fall event at Isleworth for a seventh. The eighth has been a bit harder to come by. He has five top-10s finishes in a row, with two seconds, and this season has finished among the top-10 in eight of nine starts.
Gabrelcik took two tournaments off to prepare and play in the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship, where he made the cut and tied for 69th. He returned to tie for ninth in the Mason Rudolph Championship.
Gabrelcik’s scoring average is 69.15 and he’s eighth on the Golfstat rankings and 16th by Golfweek. No other ASUN player is among the top-100.
4. Who’s playing?
UNF’s likely starting lineup is a veteran group: Gabrelcik, fellow juniors Robbie Higgins and Lance Yates, senior Davis Lee and graduate senior Cody Carroll.
JU, which has won one tournament this spring and is ranked 133rd by Golfstat and 139th by Golfweek, will likely start juniors Alexandre Vandermoten, James Dulin and Joseph Sullivan and sophomores Filip Raza and Jack Neill.
5. Crossing over
The Crossings Course is inland a bit from the Gulf but combines marshland and wooded areas that should be familiar to Florida golfers. The course has hosted the LPGA and the Korn Ferry Tour and has been named among the top-50 public golf facilities by Golf Digest.
The list of LPGA winners at the Crossings Course is impressive: World Golf Hall of Fame members Se Ri Pak and Lorena Ochoa, and future Hall of Fame contenders Stacy Lewis and Jessica Korda.
The 1998 Korn Ferry Tour Championship was held at the Crossings Course, won by Bob Burns.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: UNF defends: Five things to know about ASUN men's golf championship
