Mason Rudolph Championship to Serve as ASUN Championship Tune-Up
4/8/2023 11:47:50 AM | Men's Golf
No. 39 Liberty’s final stop before the ASUN Championship will be a familiar event for the Flames when they tee it up Monday at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
The three-day event is hosted by Vanderbilt, the No. 1 ranked team in the country, at its home course – the Vanderbilt Legends Club (par 71, 7,100 yards) in Franklin, Tenn.
Last year, the Flames and the Commodores got into a two-team shootout at this event with the two teams going a combined 83-under par.
Vanderbilt won its home tournament for the third straight event with a 46-under par 806 (266-270-270). Liberty finished in second with a 37-under par 815 (277-271-267), 19 shots clear of third-place Tennessee (19-under par 836).
This year’s 15-team field includes nine top-75 ranked teams (Golfstat rankings): Vanderbilt (No. 1), Tennessee (No. 14), Mississippi State (No. 16), Mississippi (No. 20), Cincinnati (No. 36), Liberty (No. 39), North Florida (No. 44), Furman (No. 62) and Middle Tennessee (No. 66)
Play gets underway on Monday morning with all groups heading off the No. 1 tee between 7:30 a.m. and 12:27 p.m. CST. Play continues on Tuesday (starting at 7:30 a.m. CST) and Wednesday (starting at 7 a.m. CST).
Now on The Tee – Liberty’s Starting Five (2022-23 Stroke Average)
- Josh Ryan (71.20)
- Jonathan Yaun (71.37)
- Austin Barbin (72.13)
- Isaac Simmons (72.13)
- Connor Polender (72.43)
Tournament Reflections – Liberty’s Last Showing at the Mason Rudolph Championship:
- Liberty has participated in this event five previous times, including consecutive appearances from 2015 to 2019.
- Vanderbilt did not host this tournament in 2020 (canceled due to COVID-19) and 2021.
- Liberty has finished in third place or better in each of its last three tournament appearances (2018 – third; 2019 – second; 2022 – second).
- A record-setting performance by Liberty led the Flames to a second-place finish at the 2022 Mason Rudolph Championship.
- The Flames carded a program-best 54-hole total score of 37-under par 815 (277-271-267) at Vanderbilt Legends Club.
- The record-breaking, 54-hole total was aided by a program-best 18-hole total of 17-under par 267 during the final round, best closing round in the 15-field team.
- Jonathan Yaun paced Liberty at the event with a 12-under par 201 (67-67-67), finishing in third place.
- Isaac Simmons was one shot behind Yaun in fourth place with an 11-under par 202 (71-65-66), while Austin Barbin finished tied for seventh with a 7-under par 206 (70-69-67).
From the 18th Green – Recapping Liberty’s Last Time Out:
- The Flames are coming off a fifth-place showing at the 2023 Mossy Oak Collegiate (April 3-4) in a field full of nationally ranked programs.
- Liberty finished with a final score of 26-under par 838 (282-270-286) following three rounds at the Mossy Oak Golf Course (par 72, 7,212 yards) in West Point, Miss.
- The Flames’ second-round 18-under par 270 was the third-best 18-hole total in program history.
- Additionally, Liberty’s 838 final score is the eighth-best 54-hole total in program history.
- The 18-team field included nine teams that entered the week ranked inside the top 50 in the latest Golfstat national rankings.
- Outside of the Flames’ fifth-place finish, the top seven teams in the field included six nationally ranked SEC programs.
- No. 15 Tennessee claimed a one-stroke victory with a winning score of 40-under par 824 (270-279-275). No. 4 Auburn, the top-ranked team in the field, finished second with a 39-under par 825 (270-273-282).
- All five of Liberty’s golfers finished the tournament in red figures. Connor Polender led the group, as he finished tied for 21st place with a 6-under par 210 (71-68-71).
Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes
- The Flames moved back inside the top 40 teams in the country this week and enter their seventh spring tournament ranked No. 39 (as of April 5).
- The Flames finished the fall season with a 283.92 team scoring average, the second-best mark in program history (school record: 283.07 in 2016).
- Liberty is currently ranked No. 7 in the country in eagles (19) and No. 8 in birdies (505).
- The Flames also ranked No. 23 in the country in par-5 scoring (4.68 scoring average) and No. 41 in par-3 scoring (3.16 scoring average).
- The Flames entered the 2022-23 season as one of 11 teams in the country who have advanced to the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship each of the last three years.
- The 11-team group includes Arizona State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Liberty, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Texas, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.
- Since 2011, Liberty has captured six conference titles in two different conferences.
- Liberty captured the conference title five times as a member of the Big South Conference (2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018).
- Liberty won its first-ever ASUN Conference championship in 2021.
- The Flames have advanced to the NCAA Regionals 10 of the last 11 regional events and to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship four times in program history (2012, 2019, 2021 and 2022).
Looking at the Latest Rankings (Golfstat rankings as of April 5):
Ball State (No. 149)
Charlotte (No. 89)
Cincinnati (No. 36)
Florida Atlantic (No. 119)
Furman (No. 62)
Liberty (No. 39)
Mercer (No. 125)
Middle Tennessee (No. 66)
Mississippi (No. 20)
Mississippi State (No. 16)
North Florida (No. 44)
Northern Illinois (No. 128)
Tennessee (No. 14)
Vanderbilt (No. 1)
Wofford (No. 134)
Course Information:
- Vanderbilt Legends Club (Franklin, Tenn.)
- Par 71, 7,100 yards
Following the Flames at Mason Rudolph Championship:
- Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com
- Twitter @LibertyGolf
- Instagram @LibertyGolf
- Round 1 Tee Time: Monday at 7:30 a.m./CST (No. 1)
