UAFS golfers face tough field in annual Lions Classic

Editor’s note: Story by Jonathan Gipson, sports information director for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

University of Arkansas at Fort Smith golf coach Mark Curlett looked at the snow and ice around the area last week and had visions of last year, when inclement weather forced him to cancel the annual Lions Classic.

Then, he glanced at the extended forecast and breathed a little sigh of relief.

With temperature highs forecasted in the mid- to upper-50s with only the slightest chance of rain, the Lions Classic will no doubt get under way here on Monday (Feb. 21) and Tuesday at Hardscrabble Country Club.

Six women’s teams and eight men’s teams from the NCAA Division II, NAIA and NJCAA ranks make up the field for this year’s classic, which will be the spring season opener for the Lions and Lady Lions.

The two-round event will begin at 9 a.m. each day with a shotgun start on the prestigious, par 70, 6,783-yard course that was once the home for a PGA Nationwide Tour event and still hosts several local and regional tournaments.

“We have a lot of nice teams coming in, and we’ll have nice weather too, which is always just icing on the cake this time of year,” Curlett said. “Everybody wants to get started.”

UAFS will be one of five NCAA Division II programs represented in the classic – Drury (women), UA Monticello (men and women), Midwestern State (men) and Newman (men). NAIA powers Oklahoma City University (men and women) and Southern Nazarene (men and women) and NJCAA Western Oklahoma State also are a part of what Curlett says is a talented group of competitors.

“It’s definitely going to be a good tournament for us to start out with,” Curlett said. “This time of year, we have been practicing hard, but the first time out of the gate you don’t know who is going to jump up and get you going.”

One good thing for UAFS, though, is it will have home course advantage. That is if there really is one when it comes to Hardscrabble, arguably one of the most challenging courses in the state and region.

“I like playing on our home course the first tournament and getting on a roll right off the bat,” Curlett said. “There are some good women’s teams, and there are definitely some good men’s teams.”

In spite of the recent cold, wintry weather, Curlett said the course is in great shape and has played well while his Lions and Lady Lions have been qualifying for starting spots.

“We’ll be playing the ball down, and the greens are good as usual,” Curlett said. “Of course they’ve been covered up by the snow and all, and they are not quite as fast during qualifying. But, I have a feeling that may change when the tournament comes around. Everything is great at Hardscrabble as usual.”

Curlett said there was been stiff competition for starting spots during the qualifying rounds this past week, but he said a few players have separated themselves as frontrunners for those spots.

Junior Matt McKown of Van Buren; freshman Josh Alford of Marion, Ark.; and junior Patrick Willey of Conway have locked up three of the five starting spots on the men’s team, while senior Johannah Hendrex of Fort Gibson, Okla.; sophomore Jami Hendrix of Fort Gibson, Okla.; and junior Sidney Tallon of Muskogee, Okla., have locked up three of the five starting spots on the women’s team.

“If you tried to pin me down and ask who our leader will be, I couldn’t tell you, but, we’ll find out,” Curlett said. “Qualifying has been going well, and they have distanced themselves from the others. They are definitely the top three players on each team. I expect everyone to have a good tournament, but I expect one of those three to jump out and be the leader right off the bat.”