Arkansas Eyes Repeat Title At Gator Invitational
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The No. 20 Arkansas men’s golf team will look to defend its team title at the SunTrust Gator Invitational this weekend, traveling to Gainesville, Florida, to compete against some of the best teams in the country at Mark Bostick Golf Course.
The Razorbacks return to the Gator Invitational for the sixth time in the last seven years after capturing the team title in 2014 and 2017 and finishing runner-up in 2015. Arkansas is looking to become a repeat champion of an event for the first time in six years.
The 2018 version of the Gator Invite is loaded with a 16-team field, including seven nationally ranked programs. No. 20 Arkansas is joined by three other ranked SEC teams, as No. 6 Florida, No. 7 Vanderbilt and No. 26 Missouri will all tee it up in Gainesville. The 6,701-yard par 70 course will feature 36 holes on Saturday, Feb. 17, before closing out play with the final round on Sunday, Feb. 18. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com or via the Golfstat Live app.
Fresh off being named to the Ben Hogan Award watch list, sophomore Mason Overstreet will top the lineup after his fourth top-10 finish of the year two weeks ago. He ranks No. 10 in the country in stroke average and finished T-12th at the Gator Invitational last year.
Senior Alvaro Ortiz returns to the No. 2 spot in the lineup with a 70.0 stroke average and 12 rounds under par this year, while Luis Garza is coming off his best performance of the year at TPC Sawgrass and will occupy the third position.
William Buhl was the most consistent player in the season opener and will start in the No. 4 position, while Tyson Reeder will round out the team in his second start as a Razorback. Landon Ernst will compete as an individual for the second straight event.
The Rundown
Schedule: Feb. 17-18 | 36 holes on Saturday, 18 on Sunday
Course: Mark Bostick Golf Course | Gainesville, Fla.
Yardage: 6,701 – Par 70
Format: Play 5, count 4
Last Year’s Champion: Arkansas (+5)
Razorback Lineup
1. Mason Overstreet, So. (69.2)
2. Alvaro Ortiz, Sr. (70.0)
3. Luis Garza, So. (71.9)
4. William Buhl, So. (71.2)
5. Tyson Reeder, R-So. (73.6)
IND. Landon Ernst, Fr. (73.1)
The Field
No. 20 Arkansas
College of Charleston
Coastal Carolina
No. 7 Florida
Georgia Southern
Jacksonville
Liberty
Lipscomb
Mississippi State
No. 26 Missouri
Troy
UAB
No. 50 UCF
No. 27 North Florida
No. 43 USF
No. 6 Vanderbilt
For more information on Arkansas men’s golf, follow @RazorbackMGolf on Twitter.
