HIGH POINT, N.C. — The High Point University Panthers men's golf team has its sight set on the 2026 Big South Conference Championship in Fripp Island, S.C. The Panthers go into the tournament as the fourth seed and will compete in a 54-hole stroke play over the course of three days from April 26-28. After stroke play is completed, the Big South Match Play Semifinal and Final rounds will occur on April 29 with the top four seeds from stroke play advancing.

The lineup for the championship is as follows: Burch Harrison will lead the way for the Panthers in the one spot, while Carter Pitcairn will sit in second. James Hassell, in his first Big South Championship after transferring from the University of South Florida, will be third. Shlok Jain starts out in fourth, while freshman Sean Shallat will be fifth. Jay Smith has been named the substitute. 

Tournament Central | Live Scoring

Site: Fripp Island, S.C. 

Course: Ocean Creek Golf Course – Fripp Island Golf and Beach Resort

Par: 71

Yardage: 6,546
 

SEEDINGS/CLIPPD RANKING

1 – Winthrop (172)

2 – Longwood (186)

3 – Gardner-Webb (201)

4 – High Point (221)

5 – Radford (226)

6 – Charleston Southern (235)

7 – USC Upstate (239)

8 – Presbyterian (245)

The top priority for the Panthers now is to win the Big South Championship.

"I think my goal is to be the first coach to bring home a Big South Championship in the men's golf department, and I think the guys want it really bad, especially with having a chip on our shoulder from last year," HPU Head Coach Logan Davis said.

Davis looks to lead his team to victory after falling in the semifinals in 2025.

The Panthers have had some bright moments throughout the season as the team won its first tournament under Davis at the Red Flash Invitational. HPU shot 9-under-par in the tournament, and Tully Super went home with medalist honors after shooting 7-under-par. He was named Big South Golfer of the Week for his performance.

"We went in with the mindset of it was kind of our tournament to lose," Davis said. "We knew we should go in and win it, and came out on top by 10 shots, I believe it was. It was really fun. It was a special week."

To open the season, Carter Pitcairn shot 5-under-par at the Myrtle Beach Golf Trips Intercollegiate as he nailed his first collegiate hole-in-one in the third round. Burch Harrison shot 10-under-par at the Sandestin Collegiate Classic in the second tournament of the fall, where he set a collegiate low not once, but twice.

James Hassell had a very impressive second half of the season as he shot even at the Sapona Intercollegiate, where four Panthers golfed as individuals. Jay Smith also placed top 5 for his performance in the tournament. 

Hassell then set a new collegiate low, shooting 5-under-par 66 in the third round of the Wofford Invitational, jumping all the way to ninth place. Harrison also placed top 20 in the tournament as the Panthers finished sixth overall in a field of 13 teams.

"He's [Hassell] hands down probably a top five putter I've seen in my life," Davis said. "He won the Florida State match play two years ago, and so that's going to be big going into conference when we make match play."

The Panthers have not touched their ceiling, according to Davis, and can make history in 2026 and become the first HPU men's golf team to call themselves conference champions.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Sunday, April 26

8:00am - Practice Round (Shotgun)

1:30pm - First Round

   1:30-2:02pm - #3 Gardner-Webb and #4 High Point (Hole 1)
  2:10-2:42pm - #1 Winthrop and #2 Longwood (Hole 1)

  1:35-2:07pm - #7 USC Upstate and #8 Presbyterian (Hole 10)
  2:15-2:47pm - #5 Radford and #6 Charleston Southern (Hole 10)

Monday, April 27

8:30am - Second Round (pairings based on 18-hole scores)

         8:30-9:02am - 3rd and 4th-place teams (No. 1 Hole)

         9:10-9:42am - 1st and 2nd-place teams (No. 1 Hole)

         8:35-9:07am - 7th and 8th-place teams (No. 10 Hole)

         9:15-9:47am - 5th and 6th-place teams (No. 10 Hole)

Tuesday, April 28

8:30am - Final Round (pairings based on 36-hole scores)

         8:30-9:02am - 3rd and 4th-place teams (No. 1 Hole)

         9:10-9:42am - 1st and 2nd-place teams (No. 1 Hole)

         8:35-9:07am - 7th and 8th-place teams (No. 10 Hole)

         9:15-9:47am - 5th and 6th-place teams (No. 10 Hole)

Wednesday, April 29

8:00am - Match Play Semifinals

No. 1 vs. No. 4 (No. 1 hole) / No. 2 vs. No. 3 (No. 10 hole)

1:30pm Match Play Finals

         1/4 Winner vs. 2/3 Winner     

#GoHPU