The men’s golf team will head to Ruston, Louisiana, on Sunday for its season opener, the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate tournament.

The Wildcats look to improve this season after finishing fifth in the Western Athletic Conference tournament last season.

This will be the fifth time that ACU has played in the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate tournament, meaning the course is well-known to the players and coaching staff. This will be an experienced team with seven of the ten players on the team returning from last season.

“It’s a tournament that we’ve played well before so I think there’s a feeling that we can do it again,” said Head Coach Tom Shaw. “That was probably our best tournament last year, the opening tournament. So, I think guys will be fairly confident going into it. But it’s a new team, new year, new competition.”

The team has not finished qualifying because of the recent rains, but Shaw said he believes any of his players can do well in this tournament.

“We have a team of 10 guys, but we’re top-to-bottom pretty strong,” said Shaw. “So I think whoever we take we’ll do well.”

Two freshmen have joined the team this year – Jack Hollingsed, from Dallas, and Colin Leonard, from San Angelo, and each could qualify for this tournament. Since they do not have the experience of previous college tournaments, the coaching staff must prepare them.

“I think it’s less about preparing them for the course but more about preparing them for their very first college tournament because I know that there will be some nerves,” Shaw said.

“I mean it’s golf,” he said. “You see you’re target, that’s what you hit, try to hit the green, try to make a putt. Trying not to make the situation on the golf course bigger than what it is. It’s still you, the golf ball, the target. Nothing has changed there, just go do what you’ve been trained to do, and you’ll be fine.”

After the Wildcats return from Louisiana, they will remain in Texas for their next two tournaments. The Bayou City Collegiate Classic in Houston starts on Sept. 30 and the Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas starts on Oct. 6.