WILLIAMSBURG, Va.—After kicking off the spring with an individual event at NC State, the William & Mary men's golf team will tee it up for the first time as a team at the Ross Collegiate Classic on Monday and Tuesday.
 
The event, hosted by George Mason, will be played over 54-holes at historic Mid Pines Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C.
 
TRIBE NOTES:
 
Last Time Out
After a slow opening day at the NC State Individual, Charlie Bundy and Logan Hunter led the way for the Tribe in day two at Lonnie Poole Golf Club in Raliegh. The duo posted matching 1-under scores of 70. Bundy's 3-over total placed him T-12 while Hunter finished T-24, tied with teammate Davis Adams. Scott Hanna also competed for the Tribe with scores of 77-84.
 
A Look Back
Tim Pemberton's team played in five events this past fall running from the first week of September to the last week of October. W&M averaged 296.26 this fall in their 15 fall rounds, with Charlie Bundy leading the team in scoring average at 73.4.
 
Back at Mid Pines
This will be the fourth edition of the Ross Collegiate Classic at Mid Pines. Last year W&M finished in seventh in the 18 team field, highlighted by a 4-under score of 284 in the second round. South Florida was last year's champions at 15-under-par, earning a five-shot win over Loyola Maryland. Bundy, Hunter and Jimmy Taylor are the three Tribe players who played in last year's event that will also tee it up this year.
 
The Lineup
1-Charlie Bundy
2-Logan Hunter
3-Jimmy Taylor
4-Davis Adams
5-Preston Burton
 
Individual-Scott Hanna
 
The Course
Designed by the famed architect Donald Ross, for whom the tournament is named, Mid Pines offers sweeping terrain carved throughout pine trees in the sandhills of North Carolina. Playing to 6,657 yards and a par of 72, the track features four par 5's and four par 3's. 
 
All four par-5's will be reachable for the players in the field, with the longest being the 15^th at 542 yards and the fifth hole the shortest at 484. USF took plenty advantage of the par-5's last year playing them to the tune of 40-under-par in their victory. 
 
The fifth comes at an interesting and scoreable stretch of the golf course sandwiched between a short par-4 and another par-5. 
 
The fourth is technically a drivable par-4 with a narrow, elevated, and angled green making it very difficult for tee shots to end up on the putting surface. With that said, many players will lay back off the tee and rely on their wedge game to give them a look at a birdie.
 
After the short par-5 fifth, the players will make their way to another par-5 at six. Playing 537 yards, the green can be reachable in two, but waste areas in the landing zone off the tee and a bunker protecting most of the front of the green often makes players decide to lay back a bit on their second shot. There is no doubt this three-hole stretch will be pivotal in deciding a champion.
 
The Field
The Tribe will be paired with Loyola Chicago, Towson and Old Dominion in the first two rounds of the event on Monday, starting on holes six through nine in a shotgun starting at 9:15 a.m. W&M will have a chance to close their round in style playing that scoreable stretch of three holes to close out their round. Loyola Maryland, last year's runner's-up will be in the field again, as well as Miami (OH) who finished in fifth in 2023.