by This week is going to be a busy week for Seminole Legacy Golf Club.
For the first time during the 2023 golf season, the club will host home tournaments for Florida State men’s and women’s golf.
The men’s tournament, the Seminole Intercollegiate, will begin with the first and second rounds of the tournament on Monday. The third and final round is scheduled for Tuesday, with an awards ceremony scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Boston College, VCU, Indiana, Lipscomb, Ole Miss, Troy, UAB, Southern Illinois, Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, Jacksonville, Lamar and Northern Alabama will also participate.
Men’s head coach Trey Jones is excited about the opportunity to host.
“It is going to be very fun. It is. It will be a long time coming,” Jones said. “We hosted a regional here, right after we opened, but we haven’t had a men’s tournament in the last two years.
“I know our players are looking forward to having their families in town and getting ready to showcase what we believe to be one of the best collision courses in the country.”
The Seminoles are led by three all-American golfers in junior redshirt Cole Anderson, Brett Roberts and Frederik Kjettrup.
Anderson had the best performance of his career at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate, finishing second at Mirabel Golf Club, while Kjettrup won the Watersound Invitational by shooting an FSU record three-round 18-under-par (66-67-65) and Roberts he tied for ninth at the Watersound Invitational, shooting 7-under 209 (68-67-74).
“The game feels good, just a couple of mistakes away from some really good wins,” Anderson said. “I think everyone is getting in shape here. The plan is to keep progressing and improving with each event. Obviously, you want to peak at the end of spring.”
Florida State Seminole Legacy Club. (Photo: Courtesy of FSU Athletics)
Immediately after the men’s tournament concludes, the women’s golf team will host the Florida State Match Up, beginning Friday and ending Sunday.
While the men’s team hasn’t hosted a tournament in a couple of years, the women’s team also hosted the same tournament last season.
But this weekend will be the first opportunity to host one this season.
“It’s the only time all season that we’ve organized anything,” said Amy Bond, FSU women’s coach. “Kids will be able to sleep in their own bed, they will be able to play in front of the home crowd.
“We are quite excited. Besides being here at Seminole Legacy, who can complain about this place? It’s a good test and we have a good field coming in.”
Florida State (15, Golfstat ranking as of March 1) will host Kentucky (21), Kent State (35), Purdue (51), Oklahoma (56), Tulane (59), Notre Dame (81), Mercer ( 96), East Tennessee State (103), Coastal Carolina (128), Augusta (152) and Daytona State (2 – NJCAA) for the weekend.
The first of three rounds of the 54-hole tournament begins on Friday, with one round per day, with twelve teams playing in duos in the first two rounds and then a final round in trios.
“I’m very excited about it,” said freshman Lottie Woad. “This is my first year so I haven’t played at home yet so I’m ready for it.”
The Seminoles have been successful, finishing second in the IJGA Collegiate Invitational at the Guadalajara Country Club in Guadalajara, Mexico in early February.
They were playing in the Valspar Augusta Invitational at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, last weekend.
Woad, along with junior Charlotte Heate, are the leaders of the program.
“It’s been decent,” Heath said of the season so far. “There have been some ups and downs. Some things have been achieved and we are still working on others.
The golf course underwent a $10 million renovation
The university partnered with Nicklaus Design to redesign the 57-year-old field, located in southwest Tallahassee adjacent to Innovation Park. The legacy courses are designed by Nicklaus and his son Jack II.
While the course retained its name in honor of Veller, the former FSU golf and football coach who passed away in 2006, it is also known as Seminole Legacy Golf Club.
The renovation included a complete redesign of the golf course, leaving only one hole (18) of the original layout.
The university still owns the course, which is home to the Seminoles men’s and women’s golf teams. The facility hosted an NCAA Men’s Regional Championship in the spring of 2021.
“While this could not have been possible without the commitment and support of our university administration and generous donors, I truly believe that we are not completely satisfied and know that the course will continue to improve,” said Jones.
Originally designed by Bill Amick, the course opened in 1962.
It is currently operated by Troon, the world’s largest golf and golf-related hotel management company, located in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Jim Henry of the Tallahassee Democrat contributed to this report.
The story originally appeared on GolfWeek
