JACKSON T. STEPHENS CUP ANNOUNCES FIELD FOR INAUGURAL TOURNAMENT; EVENT TELEVISED LIVE ON GOLF CHANNEL
(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.:) – The collegiate golf tournament, the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, named in honor of the late Jackson T. Stephens, the former Chairman of Augusta National Golf Club, announced its field today for the inaugural competition to be played Oct. 17-20 at the prestigious Alotian Club in Roland, Ark., near Little Rock. In addition, Golf Channel will provide live television coverage.
The University of South Carolina Women and the Florida State University Men, both ranked fourth in men’s and women’s college golf according to the most-recent Golfstat rankings, lead the field of 12 teams invited to play.
The women’s field is among the strongest ever assembled with all six teams ranked in the top 20 of the most-recent Golfstat NCAA Division 1 standings. Joining fourth-ranked University of South Carolina in the women’s field is fifth-ranked Louisiana State University, sixth-ranked University of Mississippi, 15th-ranked Baylor University, 19th ranked University of Virginia and 20th ranked University of Arkansas.
In the men’s competition, 15th ranked University of Arkansas and 19th-ranked University of Arizona join Florida State University. Next is San Diego State University, ranked 27th, with 31st-ranked University of Notre Dame and 52nd ranked University of Alabama rounding out the men’s team competition.
Tournament Chairman, Warren Stephens, commented, “We are excited to bring together some of the most dynamic teams in college golf today. It is our hope that by assembling great amateur players at some of the greatest venues in golf, we will encourage the next generation and help to grow the game. My father truly believed that golf taught life lessons, and I am thrilled to honor him through this tournament.”
In addition to the 12 schools competing for the Jackson T. Stephens Cup team titles, 12 individual men and women collegiate players representing PGA Works, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the United States Service Academies will also compete. These highly-ranked individuals will compete in the stroke play portion of the tournament.
Joining the women’s tournament are PGA Works Individual Champion Phu Khine from the University of North Carolina-Wilmington and PGA Works Women’s Team Champion Nattavadee Khunsri from Delaware State University. Representing HBCU teams are Christyn Carr from North Carolina A&T State University and Kendall Jackson and Reese Wilson from Howard University. Tori Smith represents the United States Naval Academy women’s golf team, the only women’s golf team among the service academies.
Individual men from HBCUs playing in the individual competition are Lorenzo Elbert, Jr., from Prairie View A&M University, Joshua McCray from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and Xavier Williams from North Carolina A&T State University. Players from the U.S. Service Academies include Nicholas Klock from the United States Naval Academy, Tom Katsenes from the United States Military Academy and Colter Baca representing the United States Air Force Academy.
Golf Channel will provide live broadcasts on each day of official tournament play: Monday, Oct. 18: 4-7 p.m. eastern time, Tuesday, Oct. 19: 3-6 p.m. eastern time and Wednesday, Oct. 20: 3-6 p.m. eastern time. The nightly encore broadcast schedule will be determined closer to the tournament.
Mark Brazil, Tournament Director, said, “We are thrilled to showcase the inaugural Jackson T. Stephens Cup on the Golf Channel. Live coverage makes this tournament even more prestigious, and we certainly appreciate Golf Channel’s partnership. We look forward to highlighting the players in this outstanding field and the incredible course at the Alotian Club. We thank everyone at Golf Channel for their ongoing efforts in promoting collegiate golf.”
The first 54 holes of stroke play will seed the men’s and women’s fields for a final 18 holes of match play. Stroke-play medalists will be honored October 19 before match play begins.
2021 Tournament Schedule:
Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021 Practice Rounds/Collegiate-Am Fundraiser
Monday, Oct. 18, 2021 Stroke Play (27 holes)
Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021 Stroke Play (27 holes)
Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021 Match Play Final Round by seed (1 vs. 2, 3 vs. 4, etc.)
The Alotian Club is the home course for the Jackson T. Stephens Cup and will host the competition every four to five years. In 2022, the tournament will be contested at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Fla., followed by Trinity Forest Golf Club, in Dallas, Texas in 2023.
About The Jackson T. Stephens Cup:
The Jackson T. Stephens Cup is an annual collegiate golf tournament named in memory of the late Augusta National Golf Club Chairman, Jackson T. Stephens. The tournament is a four-day stroke play-match play event featuring NCAA Division I National Championship-contending men’s and women’s teams and top players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities and United States Military Service Academies. The Alotian Club in Roland, Ark., is the home course for the Jackson T. Stephens Cup and will host the competition every four to five years, alongside other prominent world-class golfing venues. For additional Jackson T. Stephens Cup information, visit www.stephenscup.com and follow the tournament on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Courtesy of Rob Goodman, Wyndham Championship Media Director