Liberty Begins Spring Break Swing at The Hayt

The Flames will start their Spring Break swing at a familiar tournament with Liberty starting play at The Hayt on Saturday morning.

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

The Hayt, now in its 33^rd year of competition, has consistently featured one of the strongest fields during the early part of the spring collegiate golf season.

This year's 15-team field includes 10 teams who are currently ranked in the top 50 in the country and three top-10 ranked programs (No. 5 Texas, No. 8 North Carolina and No. 9 Virginia).

Play gets underway early on Saturday morning from the Sawgrass Country Club and will conclude on Monday afternoon.

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

Ike Joy (70.11)
Michael Lugiano (71.83)
Josh Ryan (72.11)
Evan Barbin (72.67)
Luke Libbey (74.13)

Tournament Reflections – Previous Showing at The Hayt:

Liberty has played in The Hayt seven previous times (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2024).
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 10th place during its last appearance at The Hayt in 2024, firing a 35-over par 899 (297-308-294).
The 14-team field faced stiff coastal winds throughout the three-day tournament with parts of the Sawgrass Country Club positioned just off the Jacksonville beach area.
Liberty's top finisher in the 2024 event was Josh Ryan, who carded a 2-over par 218 (74-75-69) to finished tied for 15^th place.

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

Liberty opened the spring portion of its 2024-25 schedule with a 13-place finish at the Gator Invitational (February 15-16).
The Flames carded a score of 34-over par 874 (284-280-310) at the Mark Bostic Golf Course (par 70, 6,701 yards) in Gainesville, Fla.
Sustained winds of 20 MPH and gusts of 40 MPH during the final round raised the course scoring average by more than two strokes per play during the final round.
Ike Joy paced the Flames during the Florida-hosted tournament. The redshirt junior posted a 5-over par 75 during the final round and finished tied for 48th place overall with a 9-over par 219 (71-73-75).
Michael Lugiano finished one stroke behind Joy and shared 55th place with an overall 10-over par 220 (73-70-77).
Florida won its home tournament for the 31st time in program history. The No. 13 Gators posted a winning score of 17-under par 823 (271-274-278).

Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes:

The Flames enter this weekend's tournament ranked No. 109 in the latest national rankings (Scoreboard Powered by Clippd rankings as of March 5).
Liberty currently ranks fifth in Conference USA in the latest national rankings: Kennesaw State (No. 62), New Mexico State (No. 63), Sam Houston (No. 65), UTEP (No. 96), Liberty No. 109), Middle Tennessee (No. 124), Louisiana Tech (No. 128), Jacksonville State (No. 136) and Western Kentucky (No. 171).
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 second team event of the spring season as the second-best ranked golfer in Conference USA in the country at No. 146 (top ranked is Kennesaw State's Claes Borregaard at No. 90).
Michael Lugiano currently leads the Flames with 42 birdies, followed by Pascal Gunther (37), Ike Joy (34) and Evan Barbin (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 March 5)
Alabama (No. 18)
Charlotte (No. 37)
Coastal Carolina (No. 89)
Duke (No. 28)
Liberty (No. 109)
Louisville (No. 42)
Navy (No. 177)
North Carolina (No. 8)
North Florida (No. 90)
Northwestern (No. 26)
South Carolina (No. 14)
Texas (No. 4)
USF (No. 34)
UTSA (No. 134)
Virginia (No. 9)

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 – TBA

Schedule

Liberty Begins Spring Break Swing at The Hayt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Evan Barbin

Pascal Gunther

Ike Joy

Luke Libbey

Michael Lugiano

Josh Ryan

Liberty Begins Spring Break Swing at The Hayt

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Evan Barbin

Pascal Gunther

Ike Joy

Luke Libbey

Michael Lugiano

Josh Ryan

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