Liberty Kicks Off Spring Break at The Hayt

The Flames start their annual Spring Break week back in the "Sunshine State" when they tee it up at The Hayt this weekend.

The three-day event is hosted by North Florida at the Sawgrass Country Club (par 72, 6,966 yards) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., starting on Saturday.

The tournament will be the third-straight event Liberty has participated in the state of Florida to open the spring portion of its 2023-24 schedule.

The Hayt, now in its 31^st year of competition, has consistently featured one of the strongest fields during the early part of the spring collegiate golf season.

This year's 14-team field is led by No. 1 North Carolina and features seven top-50 ranked teams: North Carolina (No. 1), Virginia (No. 13), Alabama (No. 21), Duke (No. 23), North Florida (No. 25), Ohio State (No. 26) and USF (No. 40).

Now on The Tee – Liberty's Starting Five (2023-24 Stroke Average)

Josh Ryan (70.00)
Isaac Simmons (72.20)
Brett Reid (72.47)
Pascal Gunther (73.45)
Austin Barbin (73.82)

Tournament Reflections – Liberty's Previous Showing at They Hayt:

Liberty has played in The Hayt six previous times (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022).
The Flames' best finish at this event was a third-place showing in 2018 when Liberty carded a 3-under par 861 (291-281-289).
Liberty finished in fourth place during its last appearance at The Hayt in 2022, firing an 8-over par 872 (291-293-288).
Tournament host North Florida won the event with a winning score of 4-under par 860 (276-296-288), edging Charlotte by one shot (276-296-289-861).
Liberty was led by alum and current LIV Golf Series golfer Kieran Vincent, who finished tied for fifth place with a 3-under par 213 (71-70-72).
Three of Liberty's starting five golfers for this weekend's tournament played in the event in 2022.
Isaac Simmons finished tied for 17^th place with a 3-over par 219 (71-76-72), competing in the event as an individual.
Austin Barbin finished tied for 58^th place with an 11-over par 227 (73-74-80) and Brett Reid finished tied for 63^rd place with a 12-over par 228 (76-77-75).

From the 18^th Green – Recapping Liberty's Last Time Out:

The Flames finished in ninth place at the Gator Invitational during its last outing on Feb. 16 and 17.
Liberty carded a 17-over par 857 (285-280-292) at the Mark Bostik Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla., the home course of the Florida Gators.
Florida claimed victory in the tournament with a winning score of 26-under par 814 (276-262-276), finishing 13 strokes clear of second-place North Florida (273-276-278-827).
Liberty's top golfer in the event was Josh Ryan, who finished in fifth place with a 6-under par 204 (68-69-67).
Josh Ryan has finished top five in three out of six events during the 2023-24 season.

Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes

The Flames enter their third tournament of the spring ranked No. 83 in the latest Scoreboard national rankings.
Josh Ryan currently leads the Flames on the season with 70 birdies, followed by Austin Barbin (50), Isaac Simmons (46) and Ike Joy (41).
Isaac Simmons and Austin Barbin each have three eagles on the year to lead the Flames.
Liberty had two players finish the fall season with a sub-71.00 stroke average – Josh Ryan (70.0) and Isaac Simmons (70.78).
Liberty finished the fall with a team stroke average of 285.08.
The Flames enter the spring season looking to capture their eighth conference title since 2011 and their first as a member of Conference USA.
Liberty closed out its time in the ASUN Conference by winning the title in record fashion when the Flames posted a 53-under par 811 (275-261-275) in the championship event.
Liberty captured the conference title five times as a member of the Big South Conference (2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018) and twice as a member of the ASUN Conference (2021 and 2023).
The Flames have advanced to the NCAA Regionals 11 of the last 12 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 (Scoreboard National Rankings as of March 6):
Alabama (No. 21)
Charlotte (No. 60)
Coastal Carolina (No. 137)
Duke (No. 23)
Jacksonville (No. 133)
Liberty (No. 83)
Louisville (No. 51)
North Carolina (No. 1)
North Florida (No. 25)
Ohio State (No. 26)
UCF (No. 159)
USF (No. 40)
UTSA (No. 109)
Virginia (No. 13)

Course Information:

Sawgrass Country Club (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)
Par 72, 6,966 yards

Following the Flames at The Hayt:

Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com
Twitter @LibertyGolf
Instagram @LibertyGolf
Round 1 Tee Time: Saturday at 8:40 a.m./EST (No. 10 tee)

Schedule

Liberty Kicks Off Spring Break at The Hayt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Austin Barbin

Pascal Gunther

Ike Joy

Brett Reid

Josh Ryan

Isaac Simmons

Liberty Kicks Off Spring Break at The Hayt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Austin Barbin

Pascal Gunther

Ike Joy

Brett Reid

Josh Ryan

Isaac Simmons

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