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WVU to Play Graeme McDowell Invitational
September 27, 2015 02:41 PM | Golf
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Coach Sean Covich and the West Virginia University golf team are headed to Birmingham, Alabama, where they will compete in the Shoal Creek Invitational hosted by Graeme McDowell on Monday and Tuesday. The tournament is hosted by the UAB Blazers at the Shoal Creek Country Club.
The 54-hole event tees off in a 9:30 a.m. ET shotgun start on Monday morning. Teams will play 36 holes of continuous play before returning to the course on Tuesday for the final 18 holes. The final round will have a tee-time start of 8:30 a.m. ET.
"We are excited to participate in this event on one of the best courses in America,” said Covich. “This is a stacked field with some great teams, several of which participated in the NCAA national championship last year. I really like the way our guys are playing right now but more importantly, I like the way they have prepared for this tournament. I hope they embrace this opportunity to compete against some of the nation's best teams on a major championship venue."
The 12-team field features nine teams that participated in NCAA Regionals in 2015, three of which advanced to the NCAA Championship. South Carolina, Washington and UAB advanced from the Bremerton (Wash.) Regional, three claiming top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championship last season. Houston advanced from the Lubbock (Texas) Regional, taking 26th at the National Championship. After finishing second in their regional, the Gamecocks went on to take 13th at the NCAA Championships while the Blazers tied for 19th. The Huskies tied for 15th overall as the National Championship. North Florida also competed at the Lubbock Regional, while Troy and the College of Charleston qualified for the New Haven (Conn.) Regional. GRU Augusta competed at the Chapel Hill (N.C.) Regional tournament, and Mississippi attended the San Diego Regional.
South Carolina and Washington are both ranked in the top-25 entering the tournament, with the Gamecocks at No.7 and the Huskies at No. 21. Mississippi State and Winthrop round out the field, in addition to the Mountaineers.
Easton Renwick, Avery Schneider, Max Sear, Chris Williams and Tristan Nicholls make up the Mountaineers’ five-man team. Renwick led the Mountaineers at the Joe Feaganes Marshall Invitational on September 15, tying for 10th place with a 71-70-67=208 (-5). Sear, Schneider and Williams previously competed at the Tiger Turning Stone Invitational earlier this year, while Nicholls will make his WVU debut.
The Shoal Creek Country Club is a par 72, 7,154-yard course. It boasts a Jack Nicklaus design and has previously played host to the PGA Championship, the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Junior Amateur.
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