JACKSON, Tenn. - When the Union University men's golf team opens the spring season February 20 at the Tunica Cup in Robinsonville, Mississippi, it will do so as the highest-ranked Union golf team since rejoining the NCAA in 2012. Union is listed by Golfstat.com as the No. 41 team in Division II and No. 8 in the South Region. 

In Union's four fall tournaments this year, the Bulldogs posted two third-place finishes and a fourth-place finish, before closing the fall with a first-place finish at the Matt Dyas Invitational hosted by West Georgia. In that tournament at West Georgia, Union defeated two teams nationally ranked in the top 15. 

Union head coach Ryan Chandler helped won multiple conference championships and made several national tournament appearances as a Union player. He is also ranked No. 4 in the program with 16 career rounds below par. Chandler is excited about what he is seeing on the course. "This really is a special group of young men," Chandler said. "Their commitment to our process and the daily grind of getting better is paying off in huge ways. We are starting to become a team that can be in a position to continue through postseason play following the conference tournament. Over the past couple of years, these teams have broken scoring records together and individually. They really are making their mark on our program's history moving forward. My goal is to provide every opportunity possible for them to reach their goals and succeed at this level. This is done by investing in them on and off the golf course and making sure they have the resources to play a higher-ranked schedule. I want their student-athlete experience to not just match but surpass what they could experience at any other institution. The win at West Georgia was an exciting win for these guys, fortunate to beat the No. 7 and No. 15 ranked teams in the nation. For me, it was emotional for various reasons. As a coach, you see the big picture of where it started all the way to where we are now, and you have to take a moment to appreciate how tough it is to climb that ladder. This was our first big road win since I started in 2019, and one of my former teammates and closest friends (Micah Gentle) was there to share that experience with us. It really meant a lot that he made an effort to be there. This guy was my teammate on our conference championship teams and one of the groomsmen at my wedding. That says a lot about who we are historically in our program and how lasting our relationships are as former Bulldogs."

The team is led by sophomore JJ Zimmer, ranked as the 80th-best player nationally and 17th-best in the region with a 72.55 scoring average. Following Zimmer is sophomore Gray Campbell, ranked 66th in the region and 317th nationally with a 74.36 average. Sophomore Timothy Pinkston joins Zimmer and Campbell as the only golfers to play all four tournaments in the fall for Union. Pinkston has a team third-best average of 76.27, ranked 111 in the region.

Zimmer is the first Union player in the NCAA era to finish a season with a scoring average below par with his finished last season's freshman year with a 70.60. The two previous best season finishes since at least 1999 are 72.14 (Jordan Botwinick in 2018-19) and 72.33 (Brett Barry in 2011-12). He also tied Barry's No. 4 National Scoring Rating as the highest two Bulldogs in that category. 

Four golfers in this year's team already rank in the top 14 in the program since 1999 with most rounds below par. Zimmer is third with 25 career rounds below par, Campbell is seventh with 12, while Blake Wolfe and Pinkston are both tied for 11th  with nine. 

Union has several golfers on this roster that can shoot low rounds at any time to complete the team effort. Trey Tidwell has played in three tournaments with a top-10 finish at the Matt Dyas Invitational. Blake Wolfe has played in two tournaments with a 12th-place finish on the season. Garrett McCraw, Kip Patterson, and Jackson Hughey have also played in tournaments this year to help contribute to the success of the Bulldogs this year. 

Coach Chandler knows it is also about the relationships of the former players that make up the great alumni that continue to contribute to this program, long after their playing days at Union ended. "As Union Golf Alumni, we try to stay connected to each other and are a significant part of our institution's history. So many alumni have been a significant part of setting the standard for how competitive Union Golf can be; Micky Wolfe, Stephen Hammond, Sam Kern, Keith Dory, Clay Mallard, and Brett Barry just to name a few. I was fortunate to play here for three years of my college career with some of the best teammates I could ask for; Brett Barry, Clay Mallard, Mills Hamaguchi, Matt Kelley, Micah Gentle, etc. just to name a few of my closest friends. Many of the scoring records being broken were held by these guys in our era, but Division II has become a different animal altogether. The South/Southeast Region, I believe, is the most difficult region to advance through, including our Gulf South Conference and the Sunshine State Conference. With conference foes Lee University (national champions 2022) and the University of West Florida (national runner-up 2021) winning on the national level in Division II, we have to recruit well and also work as hard as we possibly can to attain that level of performance. We have to continue to stay present and focus on the skillsets that are controllable. If we continue to take care of our daily routines and responsibilities, the results will come. This group of young men has what it takes. They are the ones doing the work, digging the trench. I am just thankful to have the opportunity to be present to witness it."

Last season, Union made history with Zimmer being the first player from Union during the NCAA era to advance to the region tournament. Making the region tournament as a team is next on the list for the Union Bulldogs. They are currently sitting in a position to make that happen. 

The spring schedule opens with the team hosting the Tunica Cup in Robinsonville, Mississippi at the Tunica National Golf Club, February 20-21. Union will also host the Spring Bulldog Bash in Athens, Alabama at the Canebrake Golf Club, March 27-28. The Bulldogs will play two more events during the year before postseason play begins April 16-18 with the Gulf South Conference Championships in Mobile, Alabama at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Magnolia Grove. The Division II South/Southeast Region Championships will be in Davie, Florida, May 11-13 featuring 16 teams from the two regions. The national championships are in Warren, Ohio, May 22-26. 

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