Saturday, February 16
Gainesville, Fla.
8:00 a.m.
West Virginia University
at
SunTrust Gator Invitational
Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU Tees Off Spring Play at Gator Invite
February 15, 2019 06:13 PM | Golf
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University golf team will hit the links for the first time this spring on Saturday and Sunday when the Mountaineers compete in the Florida Gators Invitational, hosted by the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.
The No. 38-ranked Mountaineers will join the host No. 33 Gators and Coastal Carolina, No. 41 Georgia Southern, Jacksonville, No. 29 Liberty, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, No.19 North Florida, Princeton, Southern Illinois, UCF, No. 30 USF, and No. 3 Vanderbilt.
Players will tee off in an 8 a.m. shotgun start for 36 continuous holes on Saturday at the par-70, 6,701-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course. Tee times will be assigned off holes No. 1 and No. 10 for the third and final round starting at 8 a.m. Sunday. The Mountaineers are paired with Liberty and South Florida for the first and second rounds.
"We are excited to get back to tournament golf, especially at such a prestigious event hosted by the University of Florida," coach Sean Covich said. "This is an old school golf course originally designed by Donald Ross. The greens are small and undulating, so being sharp with our touch on and around the greens will be at a premium this weekend."
Senior Max Sear, sophomore Matthew Sharpstene, junior Etienne Papineau, sophomore Mark Goetz and junior Philipp Matlari will represent West Virginia at the event. The squad was previously scheduled to play a head-to-head match with Penn State on Feb. 3, but the match was canceled after the Nittany Lions were unable to travel to Florida.
Sear enters the tournament ranked at No. 53 in the Golfstat rankings, marking the highest ranking ever achieved by a WVU golfer. The Ontario native leads the way with a 69.83 scoring average through four fall events. Sear picked up the program's first individual win in more than 30 years when he was the medalist at The Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational in October.
Sharpstene ranks second on the team with a 70.50 stroke average. He's posted three top-15 finishes this season, including a pair of top-10 finishes at THP Mountaineer Invite and The Tavistock Collegiate Invitational.
Papineau and Goetz enter the spring with scoring averages of 72.75 and 72.92, respectively.
The No. 38-ranked Mountaineers will join the host No. 33 Gators and Coastal Carolina, No. 41 Georgia Southern, Jacksonville, No. 29 Liberty, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, No.19 North Florida, Princeton, Southern Illinois, UCF, No. 30 USF, and No. 3 Vanderbilt.
Players will tee off in an 8 a.m. shotgun start for 36 continuous holes on Saturday at the par-70, 6,701-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course. Tee times will be assigned off holes No. 1 and No. 10 for the third and final round starting at 8 a.m. Sunday. The Mountaineers are paired with Liberty and South Florida for the first and second rounds.
"We are excited to get back to tournament golf, especially at such a prestigious event hosted by the University of Florida," coach Sean Covich said. "This is an old school golf course originally designed by Donald Ross. The greens are small and undulating, so being sharp with our touch on and around the greens will be at a premium this weekend."
Senior Max Sear, sophomore Matthew Sharpstene, junior Etienne Papineau, sophomore Mark Goetz and junior Philipp Matlari will represent West Virginia at the event. The squad was previously scheduled to play a head-to-head match with Penn State on Feb. 3, but the match was canceled after the Nittany Lions were unable to travel to Florida.
Sear enters the tournament ranked at No. 53 in the Golfstat rankings, marking the highest ranking ever achieved by a WVU golfer. The Ontario native leads the way with a 69.83 scoring average through four fall events. Sear picked up the program's first individual win in more than 30 years when he was the medalist at The Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational in October.
Sharpstene ranks second on the team with a 70.50 stroke average. He's posted three top-15 finishes this season, including a pair of top-10 finishes at THP Mountaineer Invite and The Tavistock Collegiate Invitational.
Papineau and Goetz enter the spring with scoring averages of 72.75 and 72.92, respectively.
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