Flames to Start Spring Schedule at Gator Invitational

The Flames will kick off the spring portion of their 2024-25 schedule on Saturday when they tee it up once again at the Gator Invitational.

This event has been a staple of Liberty's spring schedule for more than a decade. The Flames have participated in the Florida hosted tournament the last 13 seasons.

The event gets underway on Saturday morning at the Mark Bostic Golf Course (par 70, 6,701 yards) in Gainesville, Fla.

Florida's event has been played for 48-consecutive years and is the sixth-longest running Division I men's golf tournament in the country.

The tournament will be the first of five on Liberty's spring schedule before the Flames look to defend their title at the Conference USA Men's Golf Championship in April (April 21-24 - Texarkana, Ark.).

The Gator Invitational features a 14-team field, which includes six programs ranked inside the top 75 national rankings: Oklahoma State (No. 7), Florida (No. 13), USF (No. 27), Charlotte (No. 30), Furman (No. 53) and FGCU (No. 66).

The Flames will be sent off the No. 10 tee, starting at 7:45 a.m. along with golfers from FGCU and West Virginia. The teams will play 36 continuous holes on Saturday, followed by a final 18 holes on Sunday.

Now on The Tee – Liberty's Starting Five (2024-25 Stroke Average)

Ike Joy (68.67)
Evan Barbin (70.83)
Josh Ryan (71.17)
Michael Lugiano (71.33)
Pascal Gunther (73.11)

Tournament Reflections – Previous Showing at the Gator Invitational:

The Flames are no strangers to Florida's on-campus golf course, having participated in this event for the last 13 seasons.
Liberty finished in ninth place at the 2024 Gator Invitational, carding a 17-over par 857 (285-280-292).
Liberty's top finisher in the event was Josh Ryan, who posted a 6-under par 204 (68-69-67) to finish in fifth place.
Host team Florida ran away with the team title, posting a winning score of 26-under par 814 (276-262-276) on its home course.
Liberty's top two finishes in this event were a third-place showing in 2019 (2-under par 842) and a fourth-place finish in 2023 (5-over par 845).

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

The Flames closed out the fall portion of their 2024-25 schedule with a ninth-place finish at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational, November 2-4.
Liberty finished the Hawaii hosted tournament tied for ninth by carding a 26-under par 826 (275-277-274), closing the event with a 10-under par 274.
Ike Joy paced the Flames at Liberty's final event of the fall, finishing in fourth place with a 14-under par 199 (68-65-66) on the Ka'anapali Golf Club - Royal Ka'anapali Course (par 71, 6,700 yards) in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii.
The 14-under par 199 missed Liberty's 54-hole individual program record by one shot, ranking just behind Jonathan Yaun's 18-under par 198 (68-63-67) at the 2023 ASUN Men's Golf Championship.

Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes:

The Flames enter the spring portion of their 2024-25 schedule ranked No. 81 in the latest national rankings (Scoreboard Powered by Clippd rankings as of February 12).
Liberty only played two team tournaments during the fall, losing a pair of events due to the effects of Hurricane Milton.
The Island at West Bay Club Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 7-8 in Estero, Fla.) was halted midway through Round 1, while the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 13-14 in Vero Beach, Fla.) was canceled before it started.
Liberty has had a pair of golfers earn Conference USA Player of the Week honors during the 2024-25 season.
Following a fourth-place finish at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational, Ike Joy was named the conference's player of the week on November 6.
After claiming his first collegiate medalist honor at an individual event hosted by Georgia Southern, Michael Lugiano took home the league's top weekly honor on February 5.
Michael Lugiano claimed medalist honors at the Thomas Sharkey Individual Collegiate with a winning score of 9-under par 207 (67-70-70) on February 2.
With the victory, Lugiano earned the 35th individual medalist honor in Liberty's NCAA Division I program history and the first since 2022.
Ike Joy enters Liberty's first team event of the spring season as the top ranked Conference USA golfer in the country at No. 60.
Liberty has four golfers currently holding a scoring average below 72.0 – Ike Joy (68.67), Evan Barbin (70.83), Josh Ryan (71.17) and Michael Lugiano (71.33).
The Flames enter the spring portion of their season looking to capture their ninth conference title in program history (Big South Conference: 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018), ASUN Conference (2021 and 2023), Conference USA (2024).
The Flames have advanced to the NCAA Regionals 12 of the last 13 regional events and to the NCAA Men's Golf Championship four times in program history (2012, 2019, 2021 and 2022).
For the first time in program history, Liberty will host an NCAA Men's Golf Regional when they welcome some of the best teams in the country to the Poplar Grove Golf Course in Amherst, Va., May 12-14, 2025.

Looking at the Latest Rankings:
(Scoreboard Powered by Clippd Rankings as of February 12)
Charlotte (No. 30)
Eastern Michigan (No. 159)
FGCU (No. 66)
Florida (No. 13)
Furman (No. 53)
Georgia Southern (No. 105)
Jacksonville (No. 197)
Liberty (No. 81)
North Florida (No. 99)
Oklahoma State (No. 7)
Penn State (No. 150)
UCF (No. 157)
USF (No. 27)
West Virginia (No. 80)

Course Information:

Mark Bostick Golf Course (Gainesville, Fla.)
Par 70, 6,701 yards

Following the Flames at Gator Invitational:

Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com
Twitter @LibertyGolf
Instagram @LibertyGolf
Round 1 Tee Time: Saturday at 7:45 a.m. EST (shotgun start)

Schedule

Flames to Start Spring Schedule at Gator Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Evan Barbin

Pascal Gunther

Ike Joy

Michael Lugiano

Josh Ryan

Flames to Start Spring Schedule at Gator Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Evan Barbin

Pascal Gunther

Ike Joy

Michael Lugiano

Josh Ryan

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