Kent State University
MAC Championships
No. 30 Men’s Golf to Defend MAC Championship Title
4/26/2018 10:46:00 AM | Men's Golf
KENT, Ohio- The No. 30 Kent State men's golf team will defend its title at the 2018 MAC Championship in Fort Wayne, Ind. at the par-72, 7,331-yard Sycamore Hills Golf Course April 27-29.
The tournament format features four rounds of golf over three days. 36 holes will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, with one round of golf on Saturday and Sunday.
As the 30th ranked team in the nation, Kent State enters the tournament as the favorites to repeat and go on to contend in the NCAA Tournament. The rest of the field includes No. 110 Toledo, No. 128 Eastern Michigan, No. 140 Ball State, No. 148 Northern Illinois, No.154 Bowling Green, No. 178 Akron, No. 237 Ohio, and Miami (Ohio).
The Golden Flashes have reached their elite national ranking through the team's depth. Three of the five golfers in the lineup are ranked in the national top-200, and all five players have led the team at some point this season. Senior Ian Holt is the 19th ranked player in the country and is one of four golfers in this year's field ranked among the top-150. Junior Bjarki Petursson is ranked at 161 and senior Chase Johnson is ranked the 196th player in the nation. 2017 MAC individual champion Gisli Sveinbergsson looks to repeat his success in this year's tournament, while freshman Josh Gilkison will make his first appearance in a postseason run.
The group's credentials are undeniable, and a postseason run starting this weekend would put the cap on a dominant year. If the season ended today, Ken State's scoring average of 286.38 is the second-lowest on the program season record list. This team also posted the program's second-highest finishing percentage of 81.0, and hold the record for average scores in par-4 and 5 scoring.
Over the years, Kent State has left its mark on the MAC Championship and is routinely the team to beat. The Flashes are the defending champions and have won eight of the past nine championships as well as 20 in the last 29 years.
To follow the Flashes in their quest for another title, live results can be found at golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
