Golf, anyone?

The second annual Landfall Tradition Golf Tournament tees off Oct. 31 at The Country Club of Landfall’s Jack Nicklaus Course.

UNCW, whose men’s team tied with Minnesota for last year’s title, hosts the 54-hole event, which runs through Nov. 2. The event is free for spectators.

The women’s squad enters a strong 12-team field. Seven of the schools participating reached the NCAA Golf Regionals last year and Florida State, Tulsa and Wisconsin reached the final round of the Women’s Championships.

Teams from the Oct. 27 Golfweek.com rankings include No. 6 New Mexico, No. 16 Furman, No. 18 Tulsa, No. 24 Arkansas, No. 28 Arkansas and No. 31 Indiana.

The men also tackle a strong group of opponents, including No. 6 Minnesota, No. 27 Tulsa and No. 38 Missouri.

UNCW enters the event with a No. 51 slot.

“All the teams going to the tournament, they’re very good in the nation. … highly ranked in their conferences,” said sophomore Tony DiBitetto. “Oe team in particular is Minnesota. They won the national championship a few years ago. They tied us last year and we’d like to get a little revenge.”

The event has benefited both the men’s and women’s teams.

“I think it’s big for us, it’s shows that our team is getting better and we’re getting better teams in our tournament,” said senior Derek Brown. “There’s a couple of other top 10 teams in the country and it’s really big for us and if we play really well it can help us out in terms of ranks and finishing with a good season.”

And good tournaments and good seasons could mean good things for the program’s long-term future.

“The mission of the organizers is to have the finest collegiate event in the country,” said men’s head coach Jason Widener. “To put that effort into the tournament and the program certainly enhances our stature in the college golf community.”