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STATESBORO, Ga. – Will Evans was walking to his car after church. Hayden Anderson had the weekend off of work and saw the voice mail on his phone. Drew Guffey was lying in his bed.

All three Georgia Southern golfers thought it was peculiar to get a call from coach Larry Mays on a sleepy, sunny, Sunday morning in July, about a month before the trio was slated to return to campus for their sophomore seasons.

Mays called to break the bad news that their classmate and teammate Thomas Sharkey had passed away after a fire in his Scotland home.

It has been nearly three years since his tragic loss, and the trio thinks about their friend often. Thomas Keith Sharkey, with his thick Scottish accent and fun-loving sense of humor, could light up a room. His passion and enthusiasm were contagious, and his powerful personality was magnetic. People simply gravitated to him.

"He was at Georgia Southern for just two years, but at his memorial (in Statesboro), there were people there from all different ethnicities, all different types of groups of people who came together because they knew him," says Guffey. "That's the kind of effect he had on people. He was the life of wherever he was at."

Ask them to reminisce, and a smile immediately crosses their face as the recall the anecdotes featuring Sharkey. His Scottish accent was so thick, he was difficult to understand at times. He and former Eagle Matt Deal, who hails from Statesboro, always had some interesting banter.

"You've got Matt Deal from Statesboro with a real southern accent, and Thomas, who's fresh off the plane from Scotland. They would talk to each other, and nothing would be understood," says a laughing Evans.

"Then Sharkey would make fun of Deal's voice, and that would be really funny," adds Anderson.

Sharkey's enthusiasm was such that he got wound up easily, and it usually turned out to be humorous to his friends. He was quick to scream at the television during a European soccer match and especially hard on himself on the golf course. One time during a qualifier for an upcoming tournament, he missed a short birdie putt on No. 6 at Forest Heights Country Club and promptly punched himself in the jaw.

"He started walking and literally stumbled for the first few steps," Evans recalls with a smile and a shake of his head. "He almost knocked himself out."

As is the case for most Georgia Southern golfers, the Schenkel Invitational, the Eagles' home tournament, was Sharkey's favorite. The 35th edition of the event, annually one of college golf's most prestigious tournaments, hosted by the Schenkel Committee and Georgia Southern at Forest Heights, will be contested this weekend.

It was the 2011 Schenkel where Sharkey shined. He had the course buzzing in the second round when he teed off on hole 10 and birdied four holes on the back 9. He added another birdie on hole 3 to move to 5-under-par and ended the day with a 69. Sharkey finished the tournament tied for 32nd, his best outing as an Eagle.

"Talking to him after that round, it was probably the happiest I'd ever seen him walking off a golf course," Evans remembers.

Tributes to Sharkey are entrenched all over the Eagle golf program. A flag pole that flies the Scottish flag sits next to the Eagles' practice facility, the Bennett-Ramsey Center, and beneath that is a memorial stone donated by Bird Hodges. Sharkey's name is still on his locker inside the facility, and the initials "TS" over the top of the Scottish Flag are stitched into every one of the Eagles' golf bags.

At the Friday night dinner of each Schenkel since his passing, a moment of silence and reflection for Sharkey is offered. This year's Schenkel will be the final one for seniors Evans, Anderson and Guffey, and because it would have been the final one for Sharkey, the Eagles plan to fly the Scottish flag at Forest Heights and a poster of him will reside on an easel in the clubhouse.

"Their purpose is to remember him but also to get people to ask questions so we can talk about him," says Evans.

The community involvement in the Schenkel makes it a truly unique college golf tournament. Galleries of fans are scattered around the course, especially the finishing holes, which make college golfers feel like they are on tour. It's among the numerous reasons why many of the top college golf programs annually descend on Statesboro for the Schenkel, which consequently makes it an extra special event for the Eagles.

"Being in it as a Georgia Southern player and representing your school on your home course is a really special moment," says Anderson. "Walking down that last hole when there is a huge crowd watching is what you live for. Some may get to do that later on in their life, but getting to experience a childhood dream through the Schenkel is really neat."

Georgia Southern has never won the team title, and only two individuals - Richie Bryant in 1989 and Jimmy Ellis in 1973 - have taken home individual medalist honors. Accomplishing either of those two monumental feats is the dream of a Georgia Southern golfer.

"Ask anybody on our team if they had a choice to win any regular-season tournament, it'd be to win the Schenkel," says Guffey. "No doubt."

Winning it this year would be especially gratifying for Anderson, Evans and Guffey. If the Eagles are awarded any trophies this Sunday, rest assured dedications will be made to the memory of Thomas Sharkey, and the hardware is likely to find its way to Scotland and the home of Angela Sharkey, Thomas' mother.

"It's a tall task but not unrealistic, and it would mean a lot to the three seniors," says Evans. "I think that would be a great way to cap what would have been his time here. To win in Sharkey's last year would be really special, and something I really want to accomplish."

"It would be really emotional; I wouldn't know what to do with myself," says Anderson. "It would be one of those that you just can't explain."