Monday, August 31
Knoxville, Tenn.
8:30 AM ET
Liberty University
at
Visit Knoxville Collegiate
Golf to Kick Off 2026-27 Season at Visit Knoxville Collegiate
8/30/2026 12:02:00 PM | Men's Golf
Following a CUSA Championship in the spring and a successful summer season at USGA Championship events, Liberty is set to kick off the 2026-27 season on Monday.
The Flames will tee it up for the first time this fall at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, hosted by Tennessee at the Fox Den Country Club (par 70, 6,962 yards) in Knoxville, Tenn.
This is the first of two new tournaments on Liberty's fall schedule. The Flames will also participate in the Bearcat Invitational, hosted by Cincinnati at the Coldstream Country Club on Sept. 14-15.
Liberty enters the 2026-27 season riding a wave of success at both the collegiate and amateur level.
Last April, Liberty captured its second Conference USA title in three seasons and ninth conference title in program history.
The Flames would then go on to finish tied for fifth place at the NCAA Corvallis Regional where Michael Lugiano would claim medalist honors with a 12-under par 201.
The victory allowed the rising junior to advance to the NCAA Men's Golf Championship where he finished in a tie for 47th place.
Three members of Liberty's CUSA Championship squad will tee it up at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate – Lugiano, 2026 CUSA Freshman of the Year Silas Haarer and junior Luke Libbey.
The remaining two spots in Liberty's starting lineup this week belong to a pair of freshmen that helped the Flames capture national attention at USGA Championship events this summer.
Austin Krahn and Noah Maclauchlan were two of the four Flames connected to the program who qualified for the 2026 U.S. Amateur.
The collegiate rookies were joined by Lugiano and recent Liberty graduate Josh Ryan. Ryan captured stroke play medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur, while Lugiano advanced to the quarterfinal round at the prestigious amateur championship.
Maclauchlan, a native of Moseley, Va., qualified for the U.S. Amateur following an impressive victory at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur where he defeated No. 1 AJGA ranked Miles Russell, 6 and 5, in the championship match.
Krahn, a native of Christina Lake, British Columbia, won both the British Columbia Junior Championship and the British Columbia Amateur Championship in 2025.
The 17-team field at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate features 13 teams who advanced to NCAA Regional play in 2026 and eight teams who finished the year ranked inside the top 50 in the country: North Carolina (No. 9), Vanderbilt (No. 10), Tennessee (No. 18), Charlotte (No. 20), Georgia (No. 27), Louisville (No. 34), Mississippi State (No. 37) and South Carolina (No. 41).
Play at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate gets underway on Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. with a modified shotgun for a 36-hole day of action. The tournament will wrap up play on Tuesday morning, using split tees and starting at 10:30 a.m.
For the past three years, this event has been hosted by Tennessee at the Tennessee National Golf Club in Loudon, Tenn. However, the course has been selected as one of the six NCAA Regional sites in May 2027 and NCAA rules prohibit the site from being used during the regular season.
Now on The Tee – Liberty's Starting Five (2025-26 Stroke Average)
Looking at the Latest Rankings:(Final Scoreboard Powered by Clippd Rankings from the 2025-26 season)
Charlotte (No. 20)
Georgia (No. 27)
Indiana (No. 100)
Kentucky (No. 64)
Liberty (No. 74)
Louisville (No. 34)
Memphis (No. 58)
Mississippi State (No. 37)
Missouri (No. 89)
NC State (No. 52)
North Carolina (No. 9)
South Carolina (No. 41)
Tennessee (No. 18)
Toledo (No. 160)
UT Chattanooga (No. 56)
Vanderbilt (No. 10)
Virginia Tech (No. 125)
Course Information:
Following the Flames at Visit Knoxville Collegiate:
The Flames will tee it up for the first time this fall at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate, hosted by Tennessee at the Fox Den Country Club (par 70, 6,962 yards) in Knoxville, Tenn.
This is the first of two new tournaments on Liberty's fall schedule. The Flames will also participate in the Bearcat Invitational, hosted by Cincinnati at the Coldstream Country Club on Sept. 14-15.
Liberty enters the 2026-27 season riding a wave of success at both the collegiate and amateur level.
Last April, Liberty captured its second Conference USA title in three seasons and ninth conference title in program history.
The Flames would then go on to finish tied for fifth place at the NCAA Corvallis Regional where Michael Lugiano would claim medalist honors with a 12-under par 201.
The victory allowed the rising junior to advance to the NCAA Men's Golf Championship where he finished in a tie for 47th place.
Three members of Liberty's CUSA Championship squad will tee it up at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate – Lugiano, 2026 CUSA Freshman of the Year Silas Haarer and junior Luke Libbey.
The remaining two spots in Liberty's starting lineup this week belong to a pair of freshmen that helped the Flames capture national attention at USGA Championship events this summer.
Austin Krahn and Noah Maclauchlan were two of the four Flames connected to the program who qualified for the 2026 U.S. Amateur.
The collegiate rookies were joined by Lugiano and recent Liberty graduate Josh Ryan. Ryan captured stroke play medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur, while Lugiano advanced to the quarterfinal round at the prestigious amateur championship.
Maclauchlan, a native of Moseley, Va., qualified for the U.S. Amateur following an impressive victory at the 2026 U.S. Junior Amateur where he defeated No. 1 AJGA ranked Miles Russell, 6 and 5, in the championship match.
Krahn, a native of Christina Lake, British Columbia, won both the British Columbia Junior Championship and the British Columbia Amateur Championship in 2025.
The 17-team field at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate features 13 teams who advanced to NCAA Regional play in 2026 and eight teams who finished the year ranked inside the top 50 in the country: North Carolina (No. 9), Vanderbilt (No. 10), Tennessee (No. 18), Charlotte (No. 20), Georgia (No. 27), Louisville (No. 34), Mississippi State (No. 37) and South Carolina (No. 41).
Play at the Visit Knoxville Collegiate gets underway on Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. with a modified shotgun for a 36-hole day of action. The tournament will wrap up play on Tuesday morning, using split tees and starting at 10:30 a.m.
For the past three years, this event has been hosted by Tennessee at the Tennessee National Golf Club in Loudon, Tenn. However, the course has been selected as one of the six NCAA Regional sites in May 2027 and NCAA rules prohibit the site from being used during the regular season.
Now on The Tee – Liberty's Starting Five (2025-26 Stroke Average)
- Michael Lugiano (70.61)
- Silas Haarer (72.14)
- Luke Libbey (73.50)
- Austin Krahn (N/A)
- Noah Maclauchlan (N/A)
Looking at the Latest Rankings:(Final Scoreboard Powered by Clippd Rankings from the 2025-26 season)
Charlotte (No. 20)
Georgia (No. 27)
Indiana (No. 100)
Kentucky (No. 64)
Liberty (No. 74)
Louisville (No. 34)
Memphis (No. 58)
Mississippi State (No. 37)
Missouri (No. 89)
NC State (No. 52)
North Carolina (No. 9)
South Carolina (No. 41)
Tennessee (No. 18)
Toledo (No. 160)
UT Chattanooga (No. 56)
Vanderbilt (No. 10)
Virginia Tech (No. 125)
Course Information:
- Fox Den Country Club (Knoxville, Tenn.)
- Par 70, 6,962 yards
Following the Flames at Visit Knoxville Collegiate:
- Live stats will be available at Scoreboard.com (powered by Clippd)
- X @LibertyGolf
- Instagram @LibertyGolf
- Round 1 Tee Time: Monday at 8:30 a.m. ET (Modified shotgun start)
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
/ Men's Golf
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