What You Need to Know:
* Georgia State will host the 23rd annual John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate beginning Sunday at Eagle's Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, Ga.
* A total of 15 teams will compete in the three-day 54-hole event located 25 minutes south of Atlanta.
* Live scoring throughout the event can be found at GolfStat.com.
ATLANTA – The Georgia State women's golf team will host the 23rd annual John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate at Eagle's Landing Country Club in Stockbridge beginning Sunday. A 15-team field will compete in the three-day, 54-hole event at one of the premier golf courses in Atlanta.
The lone home tournament on the team's schedule is open to the public. Eagle's Landing Country Club is located off Exit 224 on I-75. Following a practice round on Saturday afternoon, the teams will go off the first and tenth tees on Sunday morning beginning at 8:30 a.m. The second round will be played on Monday (tee times) with the final round coming on Tuesday with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.
The John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate was first played in 1993 at Northwood Country Club, the home of the Panthers until 1999. The tournament was founded by then-Georgia State golf coach Kevin Propst and assistant Kirk McQueen with extensive help and support from Northwood County Club club pro John Kirk. When John Kirk passed away after a battle with cancer, his name was added to the Panther Intercollegiate to honor his assistance and commitment to the Georgia State women's golf program.
After one year at Chateau Elan Golf Club in 2000, the John Kirk Panther Intercollegiate moved to Eagle's Landing Country Club in Stockbridge, Ga. and has remained there ever since.
Georgia State has won the event four times, most recently in 2010. The squad has also earned low medalist honors four times, most recently by Maria Palacios in 2014.
The Panthers are coming off a 16th place finish at the MSU Spring Citrus Challenge, but posted their best round of the event to finish and look to build momentum going into the conference championship.
“Our team is excited to return home and host a great tournament at our home facility,” head coach Cathy Mant said. “This is our final regular season event before the conference tournament, so not only do we want to perform well in front of family and friends, we want to build momentum to lead us to a Sun Belt Conference championship.”
The field will include Appalachian State, Brown, Cal State Fullerton, Central Michigan, Eastern Kentucky, Elon, Florida Gulf Coast, Illinois State, South Alabama, UAB, UL Monroe, Western Carolina, Western Kentucky and Western Michigan.
This week's line-up will include juniors Jooeun Bae and Solene LeCoz, along with sophomore Yasemin Sari and freshman Jemima Gregson. The final spot in the line-up will be decided late Friday or early Saturday.
Last year, behind the strong play from low medalist Fatima Fern Cano, Troy won the team title by five strokes. Cano shot a 6-under 210, capped by a final round 67, to win the title. Her three round score was tied for the second-lowest mark in tournament history.
Live scoring throughout the event can be found at Golfstat.com. Georgia State will be paired with Elon and Eastern Kentucky for round one, teeing off Hole No. 1 at 10 a.m.
Following this week's tournament, Georgia State will return to action April 17-19 for the Sun Belt Conference Championship in Miramar Beach, Fla., at The Raven Golf Club. The winner of the tournament will receive the league's automatic bid to NCAA Regional play.
