South Dakota men's golf is set to compete in 11 tournaments in the 2022-23 season as the official schedule was released on Wednesday. Two of the tournaments will be held at courses home to Korn Ferry and PGA Tour events. The Coyotes will play in five tournaments in the fall season and five in the spring before the Summit League Championships cap off the year at the end of April.

"We are really excited about our schedule for the 2022-23 season," said USD head coach John Vining. "Seven of the events on the schedule will be brand new for our program. It's our goal every year to schedule different golf experiences when it comes to weather, course style, and field competitiveness. I believe this schedule checks every box."

USD starts the season at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational hosted by Air Force. The three-day event will be played at Eisenhower Blue Golf Course in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Coyotes will get a couple of weeks off before making the drive to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Zach Johnston Invite hosted by Drake on Sept. 26 and 27. South Dakota begins October by traveling to Elkhorn, Nebraska, for the Big O Classic hosted by Creighton and Omaha. The tournament will take place on Oct. 3 and 4 at a familiar course in Indian Creek Golf Course.

The Coyotes head to Kansas for the Wichita State Invitational on Oct. 10 and 11. This tournament is played at Crestview Country Club – home to the Wichita Open each year. The Wichita Open is one of four original sites still being played as a part of the Korn Ferry Tour. South Dakota wraps up the fall schedule at the end of October with the Grandover Collegiate hosted by UNC-Greensboro. The tournament will take place on Oct. 29 and 30 and be played at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro, North Carolina.

South Dakota will start the spring season the same way they did last year. They open the second half of the season at the Advanced Partners Intercollegiate from Feb. 12-14 and the Loyola Intercollegiate from Feb. 26-28. One of the bigger tournaments of the spring schedule takes place on March 12-14 at the Bandon Dunes Championship. This tournament, hosted by Idaho, will be played at the Bandon Dunes Original Golf Course in Bandon, Oregon.

"The obvious highlight will be the Bandon Dunes Championship in the spring," said Vining. "This will be an incredible experience for our program at one of the top golf destinations in the world."

After a couple of weeks off from the Bandon Dunes Championship, USD will play in a tournament hosted by conference opponent Western Illinois on April 3 and 4. TPC Deere Run golf course will host the Western Illinois Invite in Silvis, Illinois. The course is operated by the PGA Tour and is home to the annual John Deere Classic. The Coyotes' final tournament ahead of the Summit League Championships falls on April 17 and 18 at the Tunica National Intercollegiate. This event occurs at the Tunica National Golf Course in Tunica, Mississippi.

The season comes down to the Summit League Championships at a new site in 2023. The season finale is held in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the Wilderness Ridge course from April 30-May 2. The Coyotes finished in seventh at last season's Summit League Championships.

South Dakota returns nearly every player from last year's squad. They also added some key pieces in incoming freshman Danny Renner and Iowa State graduate transfer Bryce Hammer. The return of Ben Hicks after missing much of last season due to injury adds top-level scoring to the lineup. The Coyotes have six seniors on the roster including last season's team leader in stroke average in Max Schmidtke. Schmidtke recorded a 73.68 stroke average in his first season with South Dakota and had four top-10 finishes including a season-best tie for third place finish at the SIUE Derek Dolenc Invite.

"I know the guys were excited to see the schedule," said Vining. "The fall schedule is just around the corner. We will be in Colorado Springs before we know it."