MGOLF Preview: Eagles Open Spring at Gator

Saturday, February 16

Gainesville, Fla.

All Day

Georgia Southern University

Gator Invitational

Jake Maples makes his first start in the lineup for the Eagles.

2/14/2019 11:12:00 AM | Men's Golf

Leaderboard

GS looks for its fourth straight top-5 team finish.

Tournament Name: SunTrust Gator Invitational
Dates: Feb. 16-17
Host: Florida
Course: Mark Bostick Golf Course – Par 70 – 6,701 yards
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Tee Times and Format: 36 holes Saturday (8 a.m. shotgun start and continuous play), 18 Sunday (tee times off of 1 and 10).
Participating Schools (15): Coastal Carolina, Florida, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville, Liberty, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Florida, Princeton, Southern Illinois, UCF, USF, Vanderbilt and West Virginia

Georgia Southern Lineup (scoring average)
Steven Fisk (14 rds, 68.36)
Wilson Andress (17 rds, 71.51)
Ben Carr (17 rds, 71.82)
Avery Price (17 rds, 72.00)
Jake Maples (5 rds, 72.20)

Individuals
Mason Williams (17 rds, 72.76)

GS plays its first team tournament of the spring as the Eagles travel to the SunTrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. It is the 18th straight season that the Eagles have played at the Gator, and GS tied for eighth in the event last season.

GS looks for its fourth straight top-5 team finish, and the Eagles have finished in the top-6 in 16 of their last 21 tournaments, dating back to the 2016-17 campaign.

Georgia Southern capped the fall portion of their season by winning its second team title and shot a combined 99-under in the final three tournaments. The Eagles shot under par in the last nine rounds of the fall and recorded seven rounds that rank in the top-15 in school history, including a school record 18-under-par 266 at the Fighting Irish Classic. The lineup in those events consisted of a senior, a sophomore who was in the lineup for one event last season, and three freshmen.

Steven Fisk has been named to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List for the second consecutive season. The award is issued annually to the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during a 12-month period from June to May.

Fisk capped the fall season by winning medalist or co-medalist honors in four consecutive tournaments. It's a streak not seen in NCAA Division I golf since NC State's Matt Hill in 2009 and the first time any Eagle golfer has won four straight tournaments.

Fisk shot a combined 48-under-par in the 12 rounds, was under par in all 12 and shot in the 60s in his last eight. He shared medalist honors at the Shoal Creek Invitational and won the next three events outright, posting a lower score in each tournament. He now has seven career wins, one shy of the Georgia Southern record, set by Jodie Mudd from 1979-82. Now ranked 13th in the country by Golfstat, Fisk posted a scoring average of 68.36 in the fall.

Fisk will be making his 40th career start for the Eagles, while Ben Carr and Avery Price make their sixth straight start. Wilson Andress will be in the lineup for the fourth time this season, and Jake Maples will be in the lineup for the first time in his Eagle career. Mason Williams will play as an individual this week.

Maples shot a 67 in the final round of the GS Individual Collegiate Feb. 4, to place second in the 75-competitor field. Price tied for 13th, and Carr tied for 17th.

The Eagles added to the roster for the spring semester as Colin Bowles, the 2016 Georgia State Amateur winner from Albany, Ga., transferred in from Ohio State.