With a fresh start to the season beginning Friday, the SMU Mustangs men’s golf team will look to continue its success from a year ago with a trip to the Olympia Fields Country Club/ Fighting Illini Invitational.

SMU was a standout all last season, ranking in the top 20 for the majority of 2012-13, but will have a tough task ahead of it to open up play.

Seven of the 25 top-ranked teams in the nation will also be at this event, including No. 1 Alabama, No. 3 Baylor, No. 7 Arkansas, No. 8 Oklahoma State and No. 9 Stanford.

“It’s a great way to start the year,” head coach Josh Gregory said in an interview with SMU Athletics. “It’s perhaps the best field in all of college golf at a world-class venue. We will find out real fast where we stack up.”

The talent on SMU’s squad is still young, with eight of the eleven players underclassmen.

This weekend’s group of players includes Bryson Dechambeau, David Lee and Austin Smotherman, all sophomores, along with senior Harry Higgs and first-year
Alex Higgs.

Dechambeau is coming off a stellar opening to his personal campaign, winning the Conference USA Freshman-of-the-Year, while Smotherman was named a second team All Conference USA honoree.

Since 2005, SMU has not reached the NCAA Championship tournament. A great showcase at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational would go a long way in
remedying that.