VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's golf team returns to the course Monday and Tuesday at the Copperhead Championship at Innisbrook Resort in Innisbrook, Fla.  West Florida will host the tournament on the par 71, 7,209-yard Copperhead Course.  
 
In always a stacked field, the 2021 edition is no different as some of the top teams in all of NCAA Division II Men's Golf are set to compete.  The 17-team field features 16 teams either ranked in the top 35 in Golfstat and either ranked or receiving votes in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.  
 
The field features the top seven teams in the Golfweek poll, led by top-ranked Arkansas Tech, No. 2 Barry, No. 3 Lynn, No. 4 West Florida, No. 5 Lincoln Memorial, No. 6 Lee and No. 7 Georgia Southwestern.  No. 12 Saint Leo, along with No. 14 Columbus State, No. 15 Florida Southern and No. 21 Nova Southeastern highlight the teams in the top 25.  Valdosta State, Tampa, Lander, Flagler and Florida Tech all are among others receiving votes, while Queens, who is No. 22 according to Golfstat, is not in the Golfweek poll.  
 
"The Innisbrook Copperhead Championship will have the strongest field up to this point of the season," VSU head men's golf coach Jared Purvis said.  "The Copperhead Course is a tough, but fair test.   All aspects of a player's game must be clicking to perform well.   We are excited and looking forward to playing another great course against the best teams in the country."
 
The Blazers are coming off a week to prepare for the Copperhead Championship after finishing fourth at the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional Preview at Kinderlou Forest Golf Course in Valdosta, Oct. 4-5.  The Blazers led through the first two rounds, but struggled in the final round 301 after carding rounds of 290 and 284.  Sophomore Ryan Pollman paced the team finishing tied for 11^th with a 218 score on rounds of 72, 70 and 76.  Junior Davis Smith tallied the low-round for the team with a 69 in Monday's second round after he opened with a 79.  Smith finished tied for 38^th with a 225 score (79, 69, 77).  Newberry and West Georgia tied through 54-holes and needed a two-hole playoff where Newberry came away victorious.  
 
VSU is scheduled to host the NCAA South/Southeast Super Regional in May, 2022, at Kinderlou Forest Golf Club.  The Blazers also will host their annual Southeastern Collegiate in March, 2022, also at Kinderlou.  
 
The Blazers will have six golfers competing in the tournament Monday and Tuesday with five in the lineup and one individual. Senior Gage Smith will be at the top spot in the lineup, followed by junior Chase Weathers, Pullman, graduate student Wesley Hanson and D. Smith.  Individually, sophomore Jackson Cross also will be competing. 
 
Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats and complete recaps each day of the tournament on the men's golf schedule page.