Aggie Invitational Awaits Flashes
3/31/2016 8:41:00 PM | Men's Golf
The Kent State men's golf team will take part in the Aggie Invitational April 2-3, at The Traditions Club, hosted by Texas A&M. The two-day tournament features a par-72, 7,121-yard course, beginning with 36 holes Saturday and concluding with 18 holes on Sunday. Action is slated to begin both days at 8:30 a.m. Eastern/7:30 Central. The Flashes' first tee time Saturday will be 9:20 Eastern on Hole 1. Admission is free to all fans. Live scoring is available at GolfStat.com.
"There's no rest for the weary," Head Coach Herb Page said of going from one challenging competition to the next this weekend. "We think we can get in that Top 5 or better. To do that, we need some individual finishes in the Top 20. I like our attitude and work ethic. We just need a little more confidence to get over the hump."
The Competition
The 15-team field at this year's Aggie Invitational features six Top 30 teams and 13 teams in the Top 90 according to Golfstat. The field includes: No. 23 Arkansas, No. 28 Baylor, No. 72 Charlotte, No. 49 Kent State, No. 18 LSU, No. 79 Ohio State, No. 15 Oklahoma, No. 12 Oklahoma State, No. 64 Michigan, New Mexico State, No. 68 North Texas, No. 27 Texas A&M, No. 36 Texas Tech, UC Riverside, and No. 84 UTSA.
Two players are ranked among the top 50 golfers in the country according to Golfweek/Sagarin.
Last Time Out
Taking on a field loaded with Top 25 teams, the Golden Flashes finished 12th of 15 squads at the Valspar Collegiate March 21-22, with a 38-over 890. The Flashes finished ahead of No. 38 Memphis, No. 45 Georgia Tech and No. 7 Florida.
Freshman Gisli Sveinbergsson (Hafnarfjordur, Iceland) led the Flashes for the second straight tournament. Sveinbergsson followed up a Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Week performance with a 7-over, in a tie for 25th place.
Junior Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ontario) finished tied for 36th place, two strokes behind Sveinbergsson.
Sophomore Chase Johnson (Barberton, Ohio) was just one shot behind Whalen in 45th place.
The Lineup
Sveinbergsson, Whalen and Johnson will be joined by sophomore Ian Holt (Stow, Ohio) and freshman Bjarki Petursson (Borgarnes,Iceland). Petursson did not compete last weekend, but had rounds of 74 and 75 at the General Hackler Championship March 12-13.
Last Season
At last year's Aggie Invitational, Kent State finished in 11th place, shooting a 64-over 928. Sebastian Bendsen tied for 18th place to lead the Flashes. Oklahoma won the team title with a 20-over 884.
Up Next
The Golden Flashes will head to Columbus for the Robert Kepler Invitational April 9-10, on Ohio State's Scarlet Course.
