Friday, September 07, 2001

Johnson City, Tenn. -- The 2001 Bank of Tennessee/The Ridges Interollegiate will tee off Saturday, Sept. 8 from The Ridges Golf and Country Club in Johnson City, Tenn. Play will begin at 8 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Individual tee times can be found on the internet at live.golfstat.com. In just three years, the Bank of Tennessee/The Ridges Intercollegiate has rapidly developed into one of the premier collegiate golf tournaments in the United States. Each year, the tournament has featured many of the nation's finest teams and individual players. The 2001 tournament will be no different, with 6 of 14 teams having participated in the 2001 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship from Durham, N.C. All 14 teams participated in NCAA Regional competition last season. Joining the host East Tennessee State Buccaneerss, who finished ninth at the 2001 NCAA Championships are Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Houston, Kansas, North Carolina, North Florida, Oklahoma, Pepperdine, South Carolina, Southern California, Tennessee, TCU and Wake Forest. Nine of this year's participants are ranked in the preseason top-30 this season. One of the favorites for the team crown is Clemson, who finished second at the 2001 NCAA Championships. There are many challengers for the individual title. D.J. Trahan of Clemson, Matt Cohn of Oklahoma, Billy Haas of Wake Forest, Kevin Haefner of Auburn and Andy Doeden of TCU are all title contenders. Another player to watch is Johan Kok of South Carolina. Kok is the defending champion of the 2000 Bank of Tennessee/The Ridges Intercollegiate, after winning last year's event by one stroke (71-66-71=208) over East Tennessee State's Chris Wisler. His second-round 66 stands as the second best round in tournament history. James Johnson and Adam Riddering will lead the host Buccaneers at The Ridges Intercollegiate. Both players closed last season strong, with Johnson finishing in 29th at the NCAA Championships and Riddering finishing sixth at the NCAA East Regionals. Live scoring can be followed on the internet at live.golfstat.com. For more information on the Bank of Tennessee/The Ridges Intercollegiate, contact Matthew Snellings in the ETSU Athletic Media Relations Office at (423) 439-4220. -BUCS-