The Murray State men’s golf team gets the 2018-19 season underway Monday (Sept. 10) when they host the MSU Invitational at Miller Memorial Golf Course in Murray, Kentucky.
The event calls for 36 holes of play Monday with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. the final round is Tuesday with the same shotgun start of 8:30 a.m.
The 2018 edition of the MSU Invitational has the Racers welcoming teams from Bethel (TN), Brescia, Delta State, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Hannibal-LaGrange, John A. Logan, Morehead State, Southern Indiana, Tennessee State, Union (TN), UT Martin.
Coach Eddie Hunt has a starting five that represents both ends of the experience meter.
All-OVC selection Austin Knight enters his junior season as the anchor of the team after a sophomore season that included a pair of wins and the 12th scoring average in the OVC at 73.6. Senior Gabe Wheeler is the most experienced player on the Racers’ roster and will be appearing in his 35th event and playing his 100th collegiate round Monday and Sophomore Connor Coombsis a second-year starter after he appeared in all 12 events as a freshman. Sophomore Quinn Eaton and true freshman Dalton Bagwell each earned a starting spot after some solid play in fall qualifying. Bagwell plays his first collegiate round at Murray State and Eaton appears after he played in nine rounds last season.
The Racers have three individuals in the event including junior Justin Wendling, sophomore Rhett Cardwell and freshman James Boone.
“Having Austin and Gabe with their combined experience at the top of our lineup is comforting for sure,” said Hunt, who is entering his 17th season at the helm of the Racer program. “I am looking forward to seeing how our underclassmen come out of the gate this fall. They’re all accomplished players and I think they can be successful.”
In 2017, the Racers won their home event for the 10th time in the 14th staging of the event with a six-shot win over UT Martin. Racer head coach Eddie Hunt started the MSU Invitational in 2004 and the Racers won the first eight titles and have also claimed wins in 2015 and 2017. The Racers have won four individual titles with the last by Preston French in 2013. The other titles for the Racers came in a run of three-straight by Nick Newcomb (2009), Will Hunt (2010) and Patrick Newcomb (2011).
Miller Memorial will play to a par-71 and a length of 6,601 yards.
The MSU Invitational is one of six fall events for the Racers. MSU plays at the EKU Classic (Sept. 15-16) in Richmond, Ky., at the University Club and the Derek Dolenc Invitational at Gateway National in Madison, Illinois (Sept. 24-25). In October, MSU goes to Paris Landing State Park (Oct. 1-2) in Buchanan, Tennessee for the Skyhawk Classic and the Rex Chaney Classic (Oct. 6) at Eagle Trace in Morehead, Ky. MSU finishes the fall season (Oct. 15-16) at the APSU Intercollegiate at Greystone in Dickson, Tenn.
The spring portion of the 2018-19 schedule begins with the Racers heading out west for the Snowman Getaway (Feb. 23-25) in Goodyear, Arizona at Palm Valley GC. MSU travels to Sevierville, Tennessee (March 17-10) to play the Bobby Nichols Invitational. The Racers travel to Muscle Shoals, Alabama (March 25-26) for the UNA Spring Classic and will be playing at the site of the OVC Championship, but rather than playing the Fighting Joe Course that will be used during the OVC, the Racers will play the other course on the property at The Shoals GC, the Schoolmaster Course. After playing in Boca Raton, Florida (March 29-31) at the FAU Slomin Autism Championship, the Racers play at the TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate (April 8-9) at Hermitage GC in Nashville, Tennessee. The OVC Championship returns to the Shoals (April 21-23).
Courtesy of MSU Athletics