No. 36 Liberty Travels to Charlottesville for Regular Season Finale
4/10/2022 11:02:40 AM | Men's Golf
No. 36 Liberty will conclude its regular season schedule this week at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial Golf Tournament, starting on Monday.
The two-day, 54-hole event will be contested at the Birdwood Golf Course (par 71, 7,058 yards) just 70 miles North of Lynchburg in Charlottesville, Va.
The event will be Liberty’s final tournament before the Flames attempt to defend their ASUN Men’s Golf Championship later this month at University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga. (April 24-26).
The tournament’s 13-team field includes seven teams currently ranked inside the top 75 in the country in the latest Golfstat national rankings: Tennessee (No. 20), Charlotte (No. 26), Liberty (No. 36), North Florida (No. 39), Kentucky (No. 60), Virginia (No. 62) and Virginia Tech (N0. 69) .
Play gets underway on Monday at 8:45 a.m. with a shotgun start to kick off a full day of 36 holes of competition. The tournament will conclude with 18 holes on Tuesday.
Now on The Tee – Liberty’s Starting Five (2021-22 Stroke Average)
- Kieran Vincent (71.25)
- Isaac Simmons (71.76)
- Jonathan Yaun (71.96)
- Austin Duncan (72.04)
- Austin Barbin (73.00)
- Individual: Connor Polender (73.48)
- Individual: Zach Barbin (74.67)
Tournament Reflections – Liberty’s Last Showing at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial:
- This is the inaugural Lewis Chitengwa Memorial Golf Tournament and the first tournament Virginia has hosted at Birdwood Golf Course since 2011.
- Lewis Chitengwa was a two-time All-American at Virginia (1995, 1996) and earned All-ACC honors in 1995 when he was named the league’s rookie of the year.
- At the age of 26, Chitengwa passed away as a result of meningitis. At the time, he was competing in the Canadian Tour’s Edmonton Open.
- In 2015, Chitengwa was recognized posthumously for his immense contribution to golf by being inducted into Mercedes-Benz Southern African Golf Hall of Fame.
- This is the third first-time tournament on Liberty’s 2021-22 schedule (Maridoe Collegiate Invitational – Sept. 13-15; Hamptons Intercollegiate – Oct. 4-5).
From the 18th Green – Recapping Liberty’s Last Time Out
- Liberty is coming off a second-place finish at the Mason Rudolph Championship, April 1-3.
- The Flames carded a program-best 54-hole total score of 37-under par 815 (277-271-267) following three trips around Vanderbilt Legends Club – South Course (par 71, 7,100 yards).
- The 54-hole total eclipses the previous program record of an 823 carded at the 2019 Ka’anapali Collegiate Classic Invite (Nov. 1-3, 2019).
- The record breaking 54-hole total was aided by a program-best 18-hole total of 17-under par 267 during third round, best closing round any team in the field.
- The Flames’ 37-under par 815 is the second lowest 54-hole total in Mason Rudolph Championship, second only to Vanderbilt’s winning score in this event (46-under par 806).
- Jonathan Yaun led the Flames by finishing in third place with a 12-under par 201 (67-67-67).
- Yaun’s 12-under par 201 matches the program’s individual 54-hole record set by fellow teammate Kieran Vincent at the Rod Myers Invitational (Sept. 10-11, 2016).
- Yaun’s career-best 54-hole total score was aided by him playing the par-5 holes at a scoring average of 4.25 (9-under par).
- Isaac Simmons followed one stroke behind Yaun and finished in fourth place with an 11-under par 202 (71-65-66).
- Simmons’ career-best 54-hole total is now tied for third-best in program history, joining Mickey DeMorat (2016), Max McKay (2009) and Andrew Turner (2005) to card a 202.
Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes
- Liberty enters this week ranked No. 36 in the latest Golfstat team rankings.
- Liberty has posted seven top-five finishes in nine events during the 2021-22 season.
- Kieran Vincent individually ranks No. 46 in the country in the latest Golfstat rankings.
- Vincent has posted 24 career top-10 finishes during his career at Liberty, which ranks second to Liberty Athletics Hall of Famer Robert Karlsson (31 – 2009-12).
- Isaac Simmons currently leads the Flames with a last-round scoring average of 70.57, followed by Jonathan Yaun (70.63)
- Kieran Vincent leads the team in par-3 (3.08) and par-4 (4.05) scoring average; Isaac Simmons leads Liberty in par-5 scoring average (4.58).
- Kieran Vincent leads Liberty in pars per round (11.96), followed by Austin Duncan (11.70). Vincent ranks No. 40 in the country in the stat category, while Duncan ranks No. 95.
- Kieran Vincent ranks No. 10 in the country in fewest bogeys per round (1.96 average).
- The Flames finished their fall season ranked No. 22 in the Golfweek Men’s Golf Team Rankings, No. 24 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll and No. 26 in the Golfstat team rankings
- Liberty finished the fall season with a 288.33 team stroke average, the fourth-best mark in program history.
- Liberty entered the spring season looking to defend its ASUN Championship with the 2022 conference championship set for April 24-26 at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Ga.
- The Flames have advanced to the NCAA Regionals nine of the last 10 regional events and to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship three times in program history (2012, 2019 and 2021).
Looking at the Latest Rankings:
Charlotte (No. 26)
Coastal Carolina (No. 131)
East Carolina (No. 127)
Kentucky (No. 60)
Liberty (No. 36)
Loyola (Md.) (No. 172)
Maryland (No. 186)
North Florida (No. 39)
St. Mary’s (No. 90)
Tennessee (No. 20)
Texas State (No. 111)
Virginia (No. 62)
Virginia Tech (N0. 69)
Note: Golfstat national rankings (as of April 6)
Course Information:
- Birdwood Golf Course (Charlottesville, Va.)
- Par 71, 7,058 yards
Following the Flames at the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial:
- Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com
- Twitter @LibertyGolf
- Instagram @LibertyGolf
- Round 1 Tee Time: Monday at 8:45 a.m. (Shotgun start)
