Flames Start Spring Break at the Michael A. Marino Classic

After playing three-consecutive events in Florida to open the spring season, the Flames will head to Myrtle Beach to start spring break at the Michael A. Marino Classic on Sunday.

The three-day event, formerly known as the General Hackler Championship, will once again be hosted by Coastal Carolina as it has been since 2002.

Play gets underway on Sunday morning from The Dunes Golf and Beach Club (par 72, 7,233 yards) in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The 16-team field includes 11 teams who are currently ranked in the top 100 in the country: Louisville (No. 33), UNLV (No. 37), Little Rock (No. 47), FGCU (No. 50), Charleston (No. 71),
NC State (No. 72), Kansas State (No. 76), Michigan (No. 81), Liberty (No. 85), Coastal Carolina (No. 86) and Missouri (No. 92).

Play gets underway at 8 a.m. on Sunday morning with the Flames heading off the No. 10 tee, starting at 8:45 a.m. ET.

Now on The Tee – Liberty's Starting Five (2025-26 Stroke Average)

Michael Lugiano (70.80)
Josh Ryan (71.45)
Silas Haarer (72.50)
Andrew Gregory (72.70)
Ike Joy (72.85)

Tournament Reflections – Previous Showing at the Michael A. Marino Classic:

The Michael A. Marino Classic has appeared on Liberty's schedule each of the last eight seasons.
Liberty's best showing at the Classic was a runner-up finish in 2020 where the Flames carded an 8-under par 856 (288-283-285).
The 2020 event was the last tournament Liberty participated in prior to the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the remainder of the season (March 9-10, 2020).
Liberty was scheduled to play in the 2021 event, but they were unable to participate.
Liberty finished the 2025 tournament in 15^th place after carding a 20-over par 884 (290-302-292).
Auburn, the No. 1 team in the country at the time of the event, posted its second win in a row, carding a 33-under par 831 (278-284-269) last year.
The Tigers won the event by a 17-stroke margin over No. 39 Louisville (16-under par 848/289-282-277).
Liberty's top finisher in the event was Ike Joy, who signed for a 4-over par 220 (71-77-72) to finish tied for 42^nd place.

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

Liberty finished in 15^th place at The Hayt, carding a 8-over par 872 (291-287-294) at the Sawgrass Country Club (par 72, 7,092 yards) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (March 7-9).
The 16-team field included eight teams who entered the tournament in the top 25 of the latest Scoreboard Powered by Clippd national rankings and 11 teams in the top 50 rankings.
No. 2 Auburn closed the event with a 13-under par 275 to rally for a win with an overall score of 28-under par 836 (279-282-275).
Auburn finished two shots clear of No. 11 Texas Tech, who posted a score of 26-under par 838 (287-275-276), and four shots ahead of No. 21 Charlotte's 24-under par 840 (280-278-282).
Liberty's top finisher in the event was Silas Haarer, who posted a 3-under par 213 (71-68-74) to finish tied for 27^th place.
The finish marked Haarer's fifth top-30 finish of the season and matched his lowest 54-hole total of his rookie year.
Haarer also carded a 3-under par 213 (71-72-70) at The Bryson Invitational (Oct. 13-15).

Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes:

Liberty enters its fourth tournament of the spring season ranked No. 85 in the latest Scoreboard by Clippd national rankings.
Michael Lugiano is Liberty's top-ranked individual golfer as the sophomore is ranked No. 170 in the country.
Lugiano is followed in the rankings by Josh Ryan (No. 300), Silas Haarer (No. 485), Ike Joy (No. 618) and Andrew Gregory (No. 627).
Liberty enters this weekend's tournament as the second-best ranked team in Conference USA: UTEP (No. 74), Liberty (No. 85), Kennesaw State (No. 99), New Mexico State (No. 122), Jax State (No. 128), MTSU (No. 129), Sam Houston (No. 144), LA Tech (No. 147), WKU (No. 157), Delaware (No. 161) and Missouri State (No. 279).
Liberty's current birdie leaders: Josh Ryan (82), Michael Lugiano (79), Silas Haarer (62), Ike Joy (52) and Evan Barbin (40).
Liberty's current par leaders: Ike Joy (236), Silas Haarer (227), Michael Lugiano (217), Josh Ryan (206) and Evan Barbin (144).
Flames with eagles during the 2025-26 season: Evan Barbin (2), Michael Lugiano (1), Josh Ryan (1) and Silas Hareer (1)
Liberty currently holds a 48-49-0 record (49.48 percent) during the 2025-26 season with a 286.45 team stroke average.
After missing NCAA Regional play last year for the first time as a team since 2015, Liberty is looking to return to postseason play in 2026.
Prior to the 2024-25 season, Liberty had qualified for eight-straight NCAA Regionals as a team and 12 of the last 14 NCAA Regional events (2011-14, 2016-24/no Regionals contested in 2020).
Last year, Liberty's Ike Joy individually qualified for the NCAA Regional play, giving the Flames a representative at NCAA Regional play each year since 2009 (four years with individual appearances and 12 team appearances).

Looking at the Latest Rankings (Scoreboard by Clippd – as of March 11, 2026):
Baylor (No. 109)
Charleston (No. 71)
Coastal Carolina (No. 86)
FGCU (No. 50)
Furman (No. 111)
Kansas State (No. 76)
Kent State (No. 139)
Liberty (No. 85)
Little Rock (No. 47)
Louisiana (No. 118)
Louisville (No. 33)
Michigan (No. 81)
Missouri (No. 92)
NC State (No. 72)
North Florida (No. 135)
UNLV (No. 37)

Course Information:

The Dunes Golf & Beach Club (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Par 72, 7,233 yards

Following the Flames at the Michael A. Marino Classic:

Live stats will be available at Scoreboard.Clippd.com
Twitter @LibertyGolf
Instagram @LibertyGolf
Round 1 Tee Time: Sunday – 8:48 a.m. (Hole 10)

Schedule

Flames Start Spring Break at the Michael A. Marino Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Evan Barbin

Andrew Gregory

Silas Haarer

Ike Joy

Michael Lugiano

Josh Ryan

Flames Start Spring Break at the Michael A. Marino Classic

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Evan Barbin

Andrew Gregory

Silas Haarer

Ike Joy

Michael Lugiano

Josh Ryan

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