Smith prepares for National Golf Tournament

WESSON – While most college students are busy making plans for the summer, Co-Lin sophomore Zachary Smith of Madison is working on his golf game. Smith is one of over130 of the nation's best community college golfers heading to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Men's Golf Championship, which will be played at Glenlakes Golf Club on May 21-24, in Foley, Alabama.

"Zachary is a meticulous individual," said Co-Lin golf coach Ronny Ross. "It shows in his grades and every part of his life. Zachary has worked very hard on his game and has what it takes to be a great player. He also understands that the tournament is won way before you step foot on the course. I look forward to watching him compete for a national championship."

There are 18 teams eligible for the national championship. Smith is one of 18 players representing 12 other schools in the tournament.

The golfers will participate in two days of practice rounds starting Saturday, May 19. The tournament banquet will take place at the Wolf Bay Lodge in Foley at 6 p.m. on May 20. The banquet will include an awards ceremony where PING All-Americans and inductees into the NJCAA Men's Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame will be honored.

The tournament is being hosted by Foley Sports Tourism, with assistance provided by Glenlakes and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Sponsors are Riviera Utilities and DADS Roofing.

The 72-hole event is being played at GlenLake's Vista Dunes course, a 6,938-yard, par-72 course designed by Bruce Devlin and Robert von Hagge. It's a Scottish links-style course featuring strategic mounding, extensive bunkering and undulating fairways and greens.

"The golf course has so much character, and there's so much knowledge to be gained during practice rounds and seeing it before," course professional David Musial said. "The Vista and Dunes are a good complement. The Vista is a little bit more wide open, and the Dunes is very challenging with the amount of hills and hazards."

Live stats will be available at Golfstat: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=13452