SMU men’s golf heads to Virginia for its final ACC Championship tune-up, led by Will Sides and a lineup looking to build momentum this week.
The SMU men’s golf team heads to Charlottesville this week for the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, its final event before the ACC Championship, and the Mustangs arrive with plenty to play for.
The two-day tournament at Birdwood Golf at Boar’s Head Resort gives SMU one last chance to sharpen up against a strong field that includes No. 2 Virginia, Florida State, NC State, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
For SMU, this event is about momentum as much as results.
The Mustangs are coming off a solid showing at The Goodwin, where they finished sixth in a 30-team field. Will Sides once again paced the lineup, tying for third at 7-under par, while Zachary Kingsland added a steady T-29 finish at even par.
That production has become the norm for Sides, who continues to put together one of the best seasons in program history.
Sides is currently averaging 70.00, which matches Noah Goodwin’s 2020-21 mark for the lowest single-season scoring average ever by a Mustang.
He’s also already collected three career individual titles, including a win earlier this season at the Pauma Valley Invitational.
Add in his Jones Cup title and repeat victory at the Stephens Cup, and it’s clear why he remains the headliner for this group.
SMU’s lineup this week features Sides, Kingsland, Christian Clark, Ben Steinmann and Gabe Post. Kingsland gives the Mustangs another proven scorer, and the duo has helped put SMU in rare company nationally.
Sides is currently No. 11 in the PGA Tour University rankings, while Kingsland sits No. 30, making SMU one of only a handful of programs with multiple players in the top 30.
This week won’t decide the season, but it could set the tone for what’s next. With the ACC Championship around the corner, SMU has one more chance to look like a team ready to make noise.
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