Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Two-Day Mountaineer Invitational Tees Off Early Next Week
April 13, 2023 10:21 AM | Golf, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.- This year's Mountaineer Invitational golf tournament at Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, West Virginia, on Monday and Tuesday will feature 13 collegiate teams, including 20th-ranked Oklahoma State.
It's the first time the perennial NCAA championship contenders will be making an appearance at the annual event, which is taking place in the spring this year for only the second time in its eight-year existence.
The other time was in 2020 because of COVID-19. The first-ever event was held in the fall of 2015, won by Penn State. West Virginia won the tournament in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and other winners include Arkansas (2016), Bowling Green (2017) and NC State (2021).
"We've always had this event in October because we felt like that was a beautiful time of year to have it, but the problem with October is it gets dark pretty early," West Virginia coach Sean Covich said earlier this week.
Covich said having the event in the spring this year also better suited his 2023 spring slate.
"I love ending the regular season at home because it keeps the guys engaged and working hard," he explained. "Everybody is going to play in the lineup or as an individual, and it's their last chance to prove they can earn a spot for Big 12s."
Teeing off with the 11-time NCAA champion Cowboys on Monday morning is also a big motivating factor for Covich's young team, which has slipped to No. 120 in this year's collegiate rankings following the departures of stalwart players Mark Goetz and Logan Perkins, ranked 114th and 490th, in the most recent world amateur rankings.
Covich has not had a consistent No. 1 or No. 2 player emerge this year, which has meant a lot of qualifiers to determine his lineup. In more than 30 or so rounds this spring, one or two shots have usually separated the No. 3 through No. 9 players, which is uncommon, according to the coach.
"No. 1 through No. 9 has a chance to not only be in our lineup, but be in the No. 1 spot," Covich admitted. "It's just been one of those years when everyone has had their moments, and that's the exciting thing. Right now, I literally have no idea who is going to be in our top five, and the guys don't either. That's going to get them really focused in practice and through qualifying in the next few days."
Junior Justin Davenport is West Virginia's top-ranked player at No. 500 in this week's collegiate rankings, down considerably from where Goetz and Perkins were a year ago. Sophomore Max Green and freshmen Westy McCabe are two other young players whom Covich is hopeful will emerge to challenge for the No. 1 spot.
"(Goetz and Perkins) were our No. 1 and No. 2, and everybody knew that," Covich said. "This was the first year that we didn't have that, so I think a lot of guys were looking around like, 'Who is going to emerge as our leader on the course and off the course?' It just hasn't happened yet. Somebody is going to emerge, and it may happen this week and they take off with it for the rest of their career, or it may happen next season."
Covich pointed out that it took Goetz a while to figure things out before he blossomed during his junior season.
"When you look at some of the best players we've had, like Mark Goetz, his freshman and sophomore years were not very good," he recalled. "It was the same thing for Logan Perkins."
Covich is hopeful McCabe can put it all together and become a more consistent player because he has the talent to do so.
"During the fall, he never made the lineup and never really got close," Covich said. "He finally made the lineup in the spring and his first tournament he finished 82nd out of 82 players. That was in Arizona. We kept him in the lineup, and the very next tournament he was our low man, almost top 25 at the Gators Invitational. He was our low player at Puerto Rico and our low player The Hootie at Bulls Bay, so he proved it to himself that he belongs. A lot of times you have to fall on your face to learn."
Covich listed junior Oli Menard as another player capable of doing some good things on the course.
"He got into the lineup and shot a 66 at Bulls Bay – one of the lowest rounds for us that week," Covich said. "We've got to do it all in the same day as a team for it to count, but all of these guys have the ability. Sometimes in golf you don't all have it on the same day.
"The good news is I think we do have the pieces in place, it's just that we've got to prove it to ourselves. I really like this team. The results on the scoreboard have not been there this year, but it's closer than it looks," he said.
As for next week's event, Oklahoma State is clearly the team to watch with Denmark's Rasmus Neergard-Petersen and Germany's Jonas Baumgartner being the favorites to claim individual honors. Neergard-Petersen is 26th while Baumgartner is 49th in the latest collegiate rankings.
VCU, ranked 96th, is having a better-than-usual year while Coastal Carolina has consistently fielded strong teams. That's the alma mater of 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson.
The field also includes Marshall, Drexel, James Madison, Maryland, St. John's, Tennessee-Martin, Western Carolina, William & Mary and Xavier.
"It's a great field, obviously highlighted by Oklahoma State, an 11-time national champion. The (number of) PGA Tour players they produce is unreal. Having them come here is definitely special," Covich said. "VCU has had a great year and Coastal Carolina is always good. Marshall … all of those guys are very familiar with Pete Dye with a lot of West Virginia kids, so it's going to be tough, and we've got to play well."
Covich said Oklahoma State becomes the first Big 12 program to play the Pete Dye event.
"We've had Pac-12 teams, we've had Big Ten, ACC and SEC so to get them here is pretty special. It kind of happened last minute. They've had a lot of rainouts and cancellations, so they ended up with a lot of extra days of competition," he said.
"I thought it would be a great opportunity for our guys to play with and compete against one of the best programs in college golf. They've set the standard for decades, so why not?" he added.
The two-day event is free to the general public. For those unfamiliar with the course, Covich said after watching everyone tee off at No. 1, the back nine is a good place for spectators to watch, particularly the area near the No. 15 green where you have a great vantage point for holes 15 and 16.
The back patio of the clubhouse is another great location to see seven of the nine holes on the back nine.
"We're grateful and lucky to have Pete Dye Golf Club host this event. They've really embraced it, and since we've started the program they've embraced us," Covich said.
"Pete Dye is pretty visually intimidating, and we set it up to make it difficult. Maybe not every round, but certainly for two of the three rounds it's very difficult," he added. "Some tournaments you have to shoot 15-, 20-under as a team, and I don't think that's going to be the case, especially on Monday with (some potential) weather coming in."
The Mountaineer Invitational is West Virginia's final regular season tournament before the Big 12 Championships take place at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas, on April 24-26.
West Virginia's tee times begin at 9:20 a.m. on Monday, and continue at 9:30, 9:40, 9:50 and 10 a.m.
It's the first time the perennial NCAA championship contenders will be making an appearance at the annual event, which is taking place in the spring this year for only the second time in its eight-year existence.
The other time was in 2020 because of COVID-19. The first-ever event was held in the fall of 2015, won by Penn State. West Virginia won the tournament in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and other winners include Arkansas (2016), Bowling Green (2017) and NC State (2021).
"We've always had this event in October because we felt like that was a beautiful time of year to have it, but the problem with October is it gets dark pretty early," West Virginia coach Sean Covich said earlier this week.
Covich said having the event in the spring this year also better suited his 2023 spring slate.
"I love ending the regular season at home because it keeps the guys engaged and working hard," he explained. "Everybody is going to play in the lineup or as an individual, and it's their last chance to prove they can earn a spot for Big 12s."
Teeing off with the 11-time NCAA champion Cowboys on Monday morning is also a big motivating factor for Covich's young team, which has slipped to No. 120 in this year's collegiate rankings following the departures of stalwart players Mark Goetz and Logan Perkins, ranked 114th and 490th, in the most recent world amateur rankings.
Covich has not had a consistent No. 1 or No. 2 player emerge this year, which has meant a lot of qualifiers to determine his lineup. In more than 30 or so rounds this spring, one or two shots have usually separated the No. 3 through No. 9 players, which is uncommon, according to the coach.
"No. 1 through No. 9 has a chance to not only be in our lineup, but be in the No. 1 spot," Covich admitted. "It's just been one of those years when everyone has had their moments, and that's the exciting thing. Right now, I literally have no idea who is going to be in our top five, and the guys don't either. That's going to get them really focused in practice and through qualifying in the next few days."
Junior Justin Davenport is West Virginia's top-ranked player at No. 500 in this week's collegiate rankings, down considerably from where Goetz and Perkins were a year ago. Sophomore Max Green and freshmen Westy McCabe are two other young players whom Covich is hopeful will emerge to challenge for the No. 1 spot.
"(Goetz and Perkins) were our No. 1 and No. 2, and everybody knew that," Covich said. "This was the first year that we didn't have that, so I think a lot of guys were looking around like, 'Who is going to emerge as our leader on the course and off the course?' It just hasn't happened yet. Somebody is going to emerge, and it may happen this week and they take off with it for the rest of their career, or it may happen next season."
Covich pointed out that it took Goetz a while to figure things out before he blossomed during his junior season.
"When you look at some of the best players we've had, like Mark Goetz, his freshman and sophomore years were not very good," he recalled. "It was the same thing for Logan Perkins."
Covich is hopeful McCabe can put it all together and become a more consistent player because he has the talent to do so.
"During the fall, he never made the lineup and never really got close," Covich said. "He finally made the lineup in the spring and his first tournament he finished 82nd out of 82 players. That was in Arizona. We kept him in the lineup, and the very next tournament he was our low man, almost top 25 at the Gators Invitational. He was our low player at Puerto Rico and our low player The Hootie at Bulls Bay, so he proved it to himself that he belongs. A lot of times you have to fall on your face to learn."
Covich listed junior Oli Menard as another player capable of doing some good things on the course.
"He got into the lineup and shot a 66 at Bulls Bay – one of the lowest rounds for us that week," Covich said. "We've got to do it all in the same day as a team for it to count, but all of these guys have the ability. Sometimes in golf you don't all have it on the same day.
"The good news is I think we do have the pieces in place, it's just that we've got to prove it to ourselves. I really like this team. The results on the scoreboard have not been there this year, but it's closer than it looks," he said.
As for next week's event, Oklahoma State is clearly the team to watch with Denmark's Rasmus Neergard-Petersen and Germany's Jonas Baumgartner being the favorites to claim individual honors. Neergard-Petersen is 26th while Baumgartner is 49th in the latest collegiate rankings.
VCU, ranked 96th, is having a better-than-usual year while Coastal Carolina has consistently fielded strong teams. That's the alma mater of 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson.
The field also includes Marshall, Drexel, James Madison, Maryland, St. John's, Tennessee-Martin, Western Carolina, William & Mary and Xavier.
"It's a great field, obviously highlighted by Oklahoma State, an 11-time national champion. The (number of) PGA Tour players they produce is unreal. Having them come here is definitely special," Covich said. "VCU has had a great year and Coastal Carolina is always good. Marshall … all of those guys are very familiar with Pete Dye with a lot of West Virginia kids, so it's going to be tough, and we've got to play well."
Covich said Oklahoma State becomes the first Big 12 program to play the Pete Dye event.
"We've had Pac-12 teams, we've had Big Ten, ACC and SEC so to get them here is pretty special. It kind of happened last minute. They've had a lot of rainouts and cancellations, so they ended up with a lot of extra days of competition," he said.
"I thought it would be a great opportunity for our guys to play with and compete against one of the best programs in college golf. They've set the standard for decades, so why not?" he added.
The two-day event is free to the general public. For those unfamiliar with the course, Covich said after watching everyone tee off at No. 1, the back nine is a good place for spectators to watch, particularly the area near the No. 15 green where you have a great vantage point for holes 15 and 16.
The back patio of the clubhouse is another great location to see seven of the nine holes on the back nine.
"We're grateful and lucky to have Pete Dye Golf Club host this event. They've really embraced it, and since we've started the program they've embraced us," Covich said.
"Pete Dye is pretty visually intimidating, and we set it up to make it difficult. Maybe not every round, but certainly for two of the three rounds it's very difficult," he added. "Some tournaments you have to shoot 15-, 20-under as a team, and I don't think that's going to be the case, especially on Monday with (some potential) weather coming in."
The Mountaineer Invitational is West Virginia's final regular season tournament before the Big 12 Championships take place at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas, on April 24-26.
West Virginia's tee times begin at 9:20 a.m. on Monday, and continue at 9:30, 9:40, 9:50 and 10 a.m.
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