Kent State University
Gopher Invitational
No. 13 Men's Golf To Begin 2017-18 Season in Minnesota
9/8/2017 3:12:00 PM | Men's Golf
KENT, Ohio – The No. 13 Kent State University men's golf team is set to begin the 2017-18 season this weekend at the Gopher Invitational in Independence, Minnesota at the Windsong Farm Golf Club.
The Golden Flashes will be competing as a team in the invitational tournament and enter three student-athletes in the separate individual tournament. Live scoring will be available for each. The first and second rounds will take place Sunday, with the third and final round slated for Monday.
"We have a strong returning group, with four All-MAC First Teamers coming back," said head coach Herb Page. "They're all coming off a great year, I'm hoping they can keep getting better. This tournament is really deep but our whole schedule is full of top-20 teams. We're deep and I'm excited to see what they can do."
Kent State joins a stacked field made up of: Minnesota, No. 24 Arizona State, Arkansas, No. 5 Baylor, Charlotte, Iowa, Michigan State, New Mexico, No. 11 Oklahoma, Penn State, No. 23 Pepperdine, Purdue, San Diego State, St. John's (Minn.) and Virginia Tech will join the Gophers. That field will head to Windsong, hosting the Gopher Invitational for the fifth time. It will play at a par of 71 and yardages around 7,300. The individuals will compete at Pioneer Creek, a par 72 course.
Fresh off a run at the NCAA National Championship, the Flashes enter the 2017-18 season as stacked as ever. Four of the five golfers from last year's Mid-American Conference Championship lineup return in All-American Ian Holt, 2016 MAC Golfer of the Year Chase Johnson, 2017 MAC Champion Gisli Sveinbergsson and All-MAC junior Bjarki Petursson, who won the Gopher Individual last season.
After a tough battle in preseason qualifying, graduated senior Josh Whalen's spot was won by incoming freshman Will Kurtz of Hudson, Ohio. Kurtz was Ohio's top ranked junior golfer and is now in the lineup for Golfweek's 13th ranked team.
The individual competitors are returners Chris Doody and Spencer Dobbs, as well as Josh Gilkison. Doody and Dobbs each made appearances in the lineup during the 2016-17 season, while Gilkison begins his collegiate career after a high school run that includes the 2016 Ohio Junior Championship.
In last season's Gopher Invitational, the Flashes finished fourth overall, the team's second straight top-5 finish. Holt tied for seventh overall while three other Flashes finished in the top-30. Petursson shot a 209 (70-70-69) on the individual side to take a four-stroke victory.
For results following each day of competition, check back with KentStateSports.com.
Players Mentioned
