2016 ODU/Outer Banks Collegiate Golf Tournament Set for Oct. 23-25 at Kilmarlic

(OUTER BANKS, N.C.) — The 36th-annual ODU/Outer Banks Collegiate Golf Tournament will be played October 23-25 at the par-72, 6,560-yard Kilmarlic Golf Club.  It’s the only Division I golf tournament contested in the iconic Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Host squad Old Dominion is joined in the 18-team field by Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Campbell, Delaware, Drake, Drexel, George Mason, George Washington, Hartford, LaSalle, Longwood, Nebraska Omaha North Dakota State, St. Francis, St. Joseph and UNC Wilmington.

Campbell returns to defend its 2015 title against last year’s runner-up Bowling Green and third-place finisher Old Dominion.

Rated No. 24 among North Carolina’s Top Courses You Can Play, Kilmarlic is a popular Tom Steele design that hosted the prestigious North Carolina Open in 2004 and 2009, and began hosting the ODU/Outer Banks Tournament in 2010 — the same year the tournament moved from a 36-hole to a 54-hole event, which has helped attract a stronger field of teams.

According to longtime Old Dominion head coach Murray Rudisill, who has led the Monarchs golf program for 40 years, Kilmarlic has been the perfect venue for the country’s top collegiate players.

“Kilmarlic has tremendous par-5s and par-3s,” Rudisill said. “That’s the beauty of the course — great risk-reward. They’ve had two North Carolina Opens [at Kilmarlic] so it is a challenge for the college guys. It’s not a seaside, links-type of course. It’s more of a traditional course in a nature environment playing through canopies of giant oak, pine and dogwood that exemplify the natural beauty of the Outer Banks. The facilities are beautiful and it’s always in pristine condition.”

“Kilmarlic is an ideal tournament course offering a little bit of everything,” said Bryan Sullivan, Kilmarlic’s Director of Golf. “It’s equally daunting and exciting on the back nine with three par-5s, a drivable par-4 and trouble left and right on most every hole. Anything can happen with birdies and bogeys lurking on every swing.”