The South Dakota men's golf team opens play at the Summit League Championship Sunday. The three-round event runs Sunday through Tuesday at Sand Creek Station Golf Club in Newton, Kansas.
 
The Coyotes
South Dakota has played five spring events including a couple of elite tournaments. At the Missouri Tiger Invitational, the Coyotes placed in a tie for ninth while junior Scott Fudenberg placed in a tie for 11^th. Four Coyotes on the season have accumulated four top-10 finishes this season.
 

The men's squad looks for a Summit League Championship beginning Sunday! Here's a look at the squad preparing for the event. #GoYotes #WeAreSouthDakota pic.twitter.com/rjHptIqNFe

— Coyote Golf (@SDCoyotesGolf) April 25, 2019

 
Lineup (by average)
Tate Arends, 73.7 stroke average
Matt Tolan, 73.8 stroke average
Tommy Vining, 74.2 stroke average
Scott Fudenberg, 74.9 stroke average
Jacob Michel, 75.0 stroke average

The Field
Oral Roberts enters with the league's top stroke average at 292.2 shots per round. South Dakota is a close second at 293.3 with North Dakota State and Denver bunched together with 294.1 and 294.3, respectively. Cody Burrows of ORU holds the league's top stroke average with 71.3 strokes per round while a pair of Bison are second and third. Van Holmgren and Andrew Israelson tally 72.4 and 73.0 strokes per round, respectively.
 
Although the Coyotes do not have anyone in the top-10 for stroke average, consistency across the board has given USD the second-best team average. Arends is 11^th in the league while Tolan is 13^th and Vining 15^th.
 
The Course
Sand Creek Station Golf Club, located in Newton, Kansas, plays on the town's railroad history with many holes playing on the tradition of golf bordering railways. This season marks the fourth-straight year the men's championship has been held at Sand Creek Station.
 
The course is set to play 6,931 yards and to a par 72 over the three rounds.
 
The Preseason Poll
The Coyotes were tabbed the preseason favorites by two points over Denver. It marked the second-straight year USD entered as the preseason favorite. Oral Roberts was tabbed third with North Dakota State fourth with a pair of first-place votes. The remaining squads concluded with South Dakota State, Purdue Fort Wayne, Omaha, Western Illinois and league newcomer, North Dakota.
 
Vining was tabbed the Coyotes Golfer to Watch after earning the 2018 Golfer of the Year and 2017 Newcomer of the Year awards.
 
Last Year
South Dakota placed third in last year's event behind North Dakota State and Denver. Then a sophomore, Fudenberg placed third at 4-over-par while Arends tied for 10^th. Zach Schroeder of Purdue Fort Wayne will look to defend his individual championship after shooting 2-under-par last year. In fact, four of the top five performers in last year's championship return for 2019.