JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - After a two-year hiatus, the ETSU Foundation, in conjunction with ETSU Athletics, is set to host the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate, Monday through Wednesday, at Blackthorn Club.
The field consists of Virginia Commonwealth, Texas Tech, Kent State, East Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Toledo, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Mercer, Austin Peay, William & Mary, Lamar, Auburn, Middle Tennessee, and Eastern Michigan.
East Tennessee State's scoring lineup includes
Oli Blackadder, Veigar Heidarsson,
Richard Saunders,
Gavin Tiernan, and
Erik Tjarnberg, while
Mikkel Tingsted Blum,
Theophile Lebrun,
Joshua Pritchett, and Ben Oberholzer will compete as individuals.
The Buccaneers are entering the tournament after a win at the Trinity Forest Invitational. ETSU was five strokes off the 36-hole leaders, Southern California, but overtook them with its 13-under third-round score to finish the tournament at 32-under-par for an 832 54-hole total. This is tied for the sixth-lowest tournament score in program history.
The team is currently ranked 8th in the Scoreboard Clippd rankings and 10th in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll.
This will be the first time playing at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate since the 2023-24 season, when the Buccaneers took the 27-under-par victory, defeating the second-place Charlotte by 12 strokes. Mats Ege won the individual title with a 16-under-par finish, as Algot Kleen finished in second place at 11-under-par.
The tournament dates back to 1998, as the Bucs have taken the title three times in 2018, 2021, and 2024. Individually, five Bucs have won the individual title: Rhys Davies, 2005 & 2006, Adrian Meronk, 2015, Jack Rhea, 2019, and Mats Ege, 2024.
East Tennessee State is tied with Virginia for the lowest 18-hole total in the tournament's history with a 269 in 2019. It is also tied with Virginia for the lowest tournament total with a 35-under-par 829 in 2021.
Jack Rhea is tied for the lowest round in the history of the tournament with a nine-under-par 63 in the 2019 tournament.
The Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate begins tomorrow with the Bucs ' tee times beginning at 11:40 on the first hole, as the individual players tee off on the tenth hole. The Bucs are paired alongside Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Texas Tech, and Auburn.
