College coaches line fairways to scout talent

~ Invitationals allow recruiters to see lots of players.

The eyes of the college golfing world have invaded Cape Girardeau this week.

Coaches from all over the country have come to the AJGA's Rolex Tournament of Champions to watch the best young golfers in the world.

The tournament is one of the premier junior tournaments in the country, and each year it attracts coaches from several Division I schools.

The list of college coaches the men's side includes Stanford, Florida State and the University of Missouri. The women's side boasts Alabama, Tennessee and Southern Methodist, among many others.

"You want to go to the big ones," SMU women's coach Todd Selders said. "This is where you look for the players that can handle the scores nationally instead of local tournaments."

The tournament also allows coaches to check out a variety of players.

"It gives us a chance to see a good number of the top young players," Alabama assistant women's coach Susan Rosenstiel said.

College coaches travel throughout the year from one junior tournament to the next in search of talent that will help win college matches.

"The way the AJGA does it, the season kicks off Easter weekend and the last big junior tournament is Thanksgiving," Rosensteil said. "That's pretty much our major recruiting season."

Missouri men's coach Mark Leroux attends at least six tournaments a year, but he said that summertime is the most important time during the recruiting process.

"As soon as the championships are over, everyone is back on the road," he said. "And you are tracking these kids all the way until school starts in the fall."

Performing well at a major tournament can help boost a player's stock in the recruiting process.

"This will be a good way for us to gauge how good a player can be," Selders said.

Most of the older players already have decided on colleges, so coaches are paying close attention to the younger competitors. Coaches are looking at players as young as 14 or 15.

"We're kind of like basketball coaches now," Selders said. "If I see somebody hitting it pretty good and I see a 2013 on their bag, I will start looking."

The eye of a college coach doesn't stop at the high school ranks. Selders said coaches even are keeping an eye on players who aren't out of junior high yet.

"We start looking at them in the seventh grade," he said.