RIO VERDE, Ariz. -- The Western Michigan golf team is at its home away from home, the Rio Verde Country Club, this weekend to host the 22nd Annual Rio Verde Invitational. 

The Broncos welcome Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Bradley, Butler, reigning champions Cal Baptist, Cal State Northridge, Central Michigan, Creighton, Illinois State, Kennesaw State, Loyola (Ill.), Missouri State, Oakland, Ohio, South Dakota, Utah Tech, Wichita State and three-time champion Xavier. 

This year's tournament will be played on the White Wing course, which measures out to 6,001 yards and plays as a par 72. A new individual medalist will be crowned on Sunday, with Ali Schrock from Illinois State having graduated last year. Schrock set a new tournament record after shooting a -5 (211) for 54 holes and Cal Baptist broke the tournament record for lowest three-round team score with an 864. 

Many of the teams make the Rio Verde Invitational an annual staple on their schedule, leading to familiarity with the course. But one visiting head coach has a bit more inside knowledge than the rest of the field and that is Kennesaw State's Erin Thorne. Thorne, who was named KSU's head coach in 2021, played at Western Michigan from 2003-07 and her name is littered throughout the WMU Golf records page. When she graduated she had the lowest career average in program history, she was named Second Team All-MAC in 2007 and still holds the first and third lowest scores by a Bronco at the MAC Championship. 

Originally known as the East/West Rio Verde Invitational, Western Michigan hosted and won the inaugural invitational in the spring of 2003 with a score of 614. The event moved from a 36-hole to a 54-hole format in 2005. The residents of Rio Verde C.C. have graciously opened their homes to house the golfers, coaches and team staff who make the trip year after year, creating a special bond with returning players and teams. 

While WMU's lone team win came in the inaugural tournament, but the last Bronco to finish as the individual medalist came in 2019. Senior Claire Hernandez finished with a 142 after shooting an opening round of 70 and a second round of 72. The tournament played just 36 holes due to snow and cold temperatures. 

The action begins on Friday at 1:15 p.m. ET/10:15 a.m. MT. Live scoring is available at https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/233345/scoring/participants, will full coverage of the day's action later in the evening at www.wmubroncos.com.