Bears Prepare To Co-Host 20th Annual Linger Longer Invitational

Friday, March 20

Greensboro, Ga.

All Day

Mercer University

Round 1

Bears Prepare To Co-Host 20th Annual Linger Longer Invitational

3/19/2026 6:05:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: Rylee Bamberger, Rylee.m.bamberger@live.mercer.edu

MACON – The best time of year is finally here. For the last 20 years, the Mercer men's golf team has competed in the prestigious Linger Longer Invitational. Since its origin in 2006, the event has seen several household names competing including Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Scottie Scheffler, Brooks Koepka, Harris English and Nick Dunlap.

Tournament Info
Dates: Friday, March 20 – Sunday, March 22
Format: 54 Holes | 8:30 a.m. Start Time
Location: Greensboro, Ga. | Great Waters Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee
Live Scoring: Stats
Twitter Updates: @MercerGolf
Instagram: @mercergolf

"This is a course that we have been fortunate to familiarize ourselves with this semester and our guys know it pretty well," said head coach Jason Payne. "Coming off these past three events, we feel like we are starting to find our groove as a unit. This event has a great field that allows us to showcase our program against some top competition. We take pride in this event and are excited to celebrate 20 years of the tournament's history. We are expecting good weather and conditions that should allow us to post some good scores."

The past two weeks have been busy for the Bears with the Linger Longer being the third competition for Mercer in the last 12 days. The Bears finished fourth at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate on March 9-10 and third in the Southern Intercollegiate this past Monday.

Albin Ekvall has shined since earning a spot in the lineup headlined by a third-place finish despite challenging playing conditions at the Southern Intercollegiate in Athens, Georgia. Ekvall finished the 36-hole event with a score of one-over par and led the field with 30 pars, six more than the second-best mark.

Josemaria Gutierrez also has hit the ground running in his two events representing the Bears. The senior transfer from Barton College has a 71.4 scoring average across five rounds of play and a fourth-place finish at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate. Gutierrez posted a four-under 66 sandwiched between two even rounds in his first collegiate event since May 10, 2025.

The Field (18)

Kennesaw State, Mercer, West Georgia, Rutgers, No. 35 Georgia, Virginia Tech, No. 16 Alabama, No. 11 Vanderbilt, No. 50 USF, Jacksonville, Louisiana Tech, Elon, No. 46 Kentucky, Ohio State, No. 18 Charlotte, South Alabama, UNC Greensboro, Wofford

Mercer's Lineup

Nathan Trodd
Albin Ekvall
Henry Robards
Josemaria Gutierrez
Cole Hanson

Mercer Individuals

Phillips Swift