Eastern’s talents from tee to green will be tested at the Bearkat Classic during the highly violent Texas winds this weekend.

The Panthers will be traveling to Huntsville, Tx. to participate in the meet hosted by Sam Houston State University but will be more concerned with the conditions in the sky than the opponents in the field.

The conditions this weekend in Texas call for wind speeds as high as 15 miles per hour (on Sunday) with increasing chances of precipitation possibly shortening the event similar to what happened to the Panthers last week.

Kyle Maxwell carted a two-under-par, 70 to lead Eastern men’s golf to a fifth place finish (298 team strokes) at the rain-shortened, 18-hole Tri-State Classic hosted by Tennessee-Martin at the Winfield Dunn Golf Course at Pickwick Landing State Park.

Maxwell’s 34 on the back nine was the second-best score posted on the latter half of the course as only six players shot below par on the back nine.

Dustin Sloat shot a team-best 34 on the front nine but was hurt by a 41 on the back to finish tied for 31st with a 75. Ben Wochner also finished with a 75 and stayed under 40 on both sides of the turn, shooting 36 on the front and 39 on the back.

Ryan Lambert closed the tournament tied for 65th with a 78 and Matthew Kockler rounded out the Eastern team with a score of 80.

The Bearkat Classic is the first Sam Houston State University men’s golf event to be held at the new Raven’s Nest Golf Course.

Along with the adjusting to the different Bermuda grass in the Texas, the Panthers will be forced to keep tee shots and approach shots low to avoid the historically unpredictable gusts in the area.

Participating in the event will be Army, Boston College, Centenary, Iowa, Eastern, Louisiana Tech, Nicholls St., Oklahoma City University, Rice, Southern Illinois, Stephen F. Austin State, Texas-Pan American, Texas State University-San Marcos, Washington State and Western Illinois.

The favorite of the tournament may be Oklahoma City senior TyroneVan Aswegen. The South African native won the Oklahoma Christian Invitational with a 2-under-par 138 and comes in with a scoring average barely over par.