BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (Oct. 8, 2017) – Coach Sean Covich and the West Virginia University golf team will host 15 teams as part of the Mountaineers’ annual home tournament, The Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational, on Monday and Tuesday at Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, West Virginia.
The 2017 season marks the third home event for the Mountaineers. Previously known as the Mountaineer Intercollegiate, West Virginia paired with The Health Plan as a title sponsor for this season’s tournament.
Golfers will tee off in a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Monday morning for 36 continuous holes on the par-72, 7,308-yard course. They will play tee times starting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday for the final round of action.
West Virginia is joined in the field by Utah, Rutgers, Akron, James Madison, Seton Hall, Bowling Green, Davidson, Eastern Kentucky, Loyola, Ohio, Winthrop, Marshall, Towson, Robert Morris and Youngstown State. The Mountaineers are paired with Utah and Rutgers for the first two rounds.
“We only get to host one home event a year, so it’s very special,” Covich said. “Most college golf is played on the road; something like 99 percent of our events. The guys really like it because we’re familiar with the course. We feel like we have a home-course advantage. We’re right here at home, and it’s a really special event for us. This will be our third year hosting it, and we’re always excited.”
The Mountaineers placed fourth at last season’s tournament with a score of 878. Arkansas took home the team title at six under par (858), followed by Mississippi State at five-over (869). Akron finished three strokes ahead of West Virginia for third place at 11 over par (875).
Philipp Matlari, Max Sear, Etienne Papineau, Tristan Nicholls and Matthew Sharpstene will comprise the WVU lineup. Mark Goetz, Logan Perkins, Avery Schneider and Drew Dewald will compete as individuals.
WVU is coming off a win at the Janney VCU Shootout on Sept. 18-19 in Richmond, Virginia. The team set program records for low round, low 54-hole total and vs. par in collecting their second title since resuming competition in 2015.
Matlari led the Mountaineers with an eighth-place finish at six under par with a score of 210. He currently leads WVU with a stroke average of 70.00. Sear tied the program record with a 66, carding a 211 for five under par and a 10th-place finish at the event. He ranks second on the team with a 70.33 stroke average.
Nicholls, Papineau and Sharpstene all finished in the top-20 at the event and currently average 71.33 or better on the season. Goetz made his career debut as an individual, carding a 220 for four over par.
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