KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan golf team heads to Eastern Michigan and the Eagle Crest Golf Club for the annual Shirley Spork Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.

The teams will play two rounds on Monday and wrap up the 54-hole tournament on Tuesday. Eagle Crest measures 6,175 yards and is a par 72.

The Broncos are a part of the 11-team field that includes the Eagles, Akron, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Dayton, Detroit Mercy, Green Bay, Oakland, Ohio and Youngstown State.

The tournament is named after Shirley Spork, the first female inducted into Eastern Michigan's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981. In 1947 she was the winner of the first-ever National Collegiate Championship held for women's athletics and the winner of the 1949 Michigan Amateur. After graduating from EMU she taught in the Detroit public schools before returning to golf and turning professional in 1950. She helped co-found the LPGA's Teaching and Club Professional Division and was the first LPGA professional to conduct golf clinics in foreign countries. She is a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame and was recently inducted into the PGA of America Hall of Fame in 2019.

The Shirley Spork Invitational has been a regular appearance on WMU's schedule, with the Broncos competing in 2017, 2018 and 2019. No tournament was held in 2020 due to COVID-19. In 2017 WMU's Julia Champion was the individual medalist after shooting a 218 and the team finished in third place. Western Michigan took fifth in 2018 and fourth in 2019.

The Fall season is winding down and the Broncos have two more tournaments before their long break. WMU heads to Bradley University for the Bradley Coyote Creek Classic beginning on Saturday and then wraps up 2021 at Evansville for the Braun Intercollegiate.