Liberty University
Gator Invitational
Flames Take 3rd Place at Gator Invitational
2/12/2023 10:34:00 PM | Men's Golf
Final Results
No. 37 Liberty battled the Gators and gusty weather conditions to finish in third place at the Gator Invitational on Sunday.
The 13-team field faced lingering rain from overnight storms early in the day and wind gusts over 20 MPH during their third trip around the Mark Bostick Golf Course (par 70, 6,701 yards).
The home course of the No. 8 ranked Gators played at more than 2.5 strokes average higher on Sunday (Round 3 - 74.80) than it did on Saturday (Round 1 - 71.84; Round 2 - 72.13).
The Gators were the lone team in the field not to post a double-digit over-par score on Sunday, winning the tournament by 18 strokes over their nearest competitor.
No. 8 Florida won its home tournament for the 29th time in program history with a winning score of 14-under par 826 (271-276-279).
No. 25 Georgia Southern finished one shot ahead of the Flames with a runner-up score of 4-over par 844 (277-276-291).
Liberty posted its second-straight third-place finish to open the spring portion of its schedule with a score of 5-over par 845 (271-283-291).
No. 35 North Florida finished eight shots behind Liberty in fourth place with a 13-over par 853 (282-275-296).
Florida's Ricky Castillo (67-63-69) and Georgia Southern's Mason Williams (66-65-68) finished tied for first place with an 11-under par 199.
Castillo claimed medalist honors in a playoff. Only seven players in the 75-man field managed to finish the tournament in red figures.
Austin Barbin paced the Flames, finishing tied for 11th place with a 2-over par 212 (66-71-75). Barbin ranked fourth in the field in par-4 scoring with a 3.93 scoring average.
Isaac Simmons (70-71-73), Jonathan Yaun (70-74-70) and Connor Polender (68-67-79) rounded out Liberty's top-20 finishers, sharing 18th place with a 4-over par 214.
Yaun carded one of six eagles during the tournament, while Simmons ranked second in the field with 40 pars. Polender led the field with 15 birdies during the 54-hole event.
Round Recap – Liberty's Starting Five:
- Austin Barbin – T11 2-over par 212 (66-71-75)
- Jonathan Yaun – T18 4-over par 214 (70-74-70)
- Isaac Simmons – T18 4-over par 214 (70-71-73)
- Connor Polender – T18 4-over par 214 (68-67-79)
- Josh Ryan – T24 6-over par 216 (67-76-73)
- Individual: Ike Joy – T43 10-over par 220 (73-72-75)
Back on the Course – Liberty's Next Event:
- Prestige Invitational (Feb. 20-22)
- Greg Norman Course at PGA West (La Quinta, Calif.)
- Hosted by UC Davis
- Par 72, 7,156 yards
