The Arkansas women’s and men’s golf teams will host the sixth annual Blessings Collegiate Invitational, presented by Tyson Foods, from September 29 to October 1 at the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville. Admission and parking for the event are free, with courtesy shuttles available between the clubhouse and the 9th/10th holes.
The tournament features a unique format where men’s and women’s teams play on the same course at the same time. Each school’s five team members will play together on the same holes. The competition consists of 18 holes each day, starting at 7:45 am. Champions will be crowned in several categories on Wednesday, including men’s team, women’s team, individual male, individual female, combined team, and combined individual best-ball.
Arkansas has had notable success in previous editions of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational (BCI). The Razorbacks have won four out of five titles in both the combined team and combined individual best-ball competitions. On the women’s side, they have also secured four out of five titles in both team and individual categories. Notably, Brooke Matthews and Maria Jose Marin have each won twice in women’s individual competitions. The men’s program has claimed two titles each in both team and individual competitions.
Maria Jose Marin returns as a two-time women’s champion aiming to defend her titles. She was also part of last year’s winning combined best-ball team alongside John Daly II.
This year’s field includes Arkansas, Brigham Young, Kansas State, Kent State, Louisville, Maryland, Mississippi State, Missouri, UNC Greensboro, and Washington State. Mississippi State has previously won multiple BCI titles and was runner-up in both men’s and women’s competitions in 2023 and 2024. Seven of this year’s ten teams competed in last year’s tournament.
The Arkansas men’s lineup includes John Daly II (1), Niilo Maki-Petaja (2), Eric Fortlage (3), Cam Smith (4), Gerardo Gomez (5), with Thomas Curry, Willie Gordon, Rex Hargrove, and Alexander Yang competing as individuals. The women’s lineup features Maria Jose Marin (1), Reagan Zibilski (2), Abbey Schutte (3), Clarissa Temelo (4), Natalie Blonien (5), with Sayers Allen, Anna Kate Nichols, and Swetha Sathish entered as individuals.
For further updates on the tournament or to follow live coverage:
Twitter – @RazorbackMGolf / @razorbackmgolf / @BlessingsCI
Instagram – @RazorbackWGolf / @razorbackwgolf / @blessingscollegiate
