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USF men’s golf will compete in a 15-team field that includes eight other top-25 teams and five programs ranked in the top 10 by Golfstat.
The Bulls have won two straight titles in wire-to-wire fashion heading into Sunday’s opening round of the three-day event at Floridian National Golf Club.
EVENT: Valspar Collegiate Invitational
DATES: Sunday, March 17 – Tuesday, March 19
LOCATION: Floridian National Golf Club, Palm City, Fla.
FORMAT: 54 holes, 18 each day
TAMPA, MARCH 16, 2019 – Following back-to-back title victories, No. 20 USF will face a loaded field that includes eight other top-25 teams at the three-day Valspar Collegiate Invitational.
Action begins Sunday with 18 holes at Floridian National Golf Club (par 71, 7,114 yards). USF’s competition in the talented 15-team field will include five top-10 opponents – No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Duke, No. 6 Wake Forest, No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Georgia Tech.
USF’s young lineup is ready for its greatest test yet this season after winning the past two tournaments in wire-to-wire fashion.
USF finished with a 24-under team score in its 23-shot victory at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate on March 5. The last time out, head coach Steve Bradley’s host Bulls won 12 shots at the USF Invitational on Tuesday at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club.
The Valspar Collegiate Invitational is the first of two regular season tournaments remaining on USF’s schedule. After the Stitch Invitational (April 12-13), the Bulls will chase after their fifth straight American Athletic Conference Championship crown April 21-23 at Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla.
Valspar Collegiate Invitational Field
Host Houston, No. 20 USF, No. 1 Oklahoma State, No. 2 Duke, No. 6 Wake Forest, No. 8 Texas, No. 9 Georgia Tech, No. 11 LSU, No. 18 Arkansas, No. 23 Baylor, No. 27 Texas A&M, No. 30 Florida State, No. 31 South Carolina, Lamar and UT Arlington.
The Lineup
- Luke Gifford – The freshman from Boca Raton, Fla., has gotten into a groove the past two tournaments, tying for third at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate and tying for eighth at the USF Invitational. Gifford finished strong at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club on Tuesday by shooting par or better on 16 holes on the way to turning in a 2-under 70 in the final round.
- Albin Bergstrom – The freshman from Ljunghusen, Sweden earned AAC Player of the Week honors for the second straight week after placing second in the 84-player USF Invitational field with a 7-under 209 (69-72-68). Ranked No. 42 in the NCAA by Golfstat, Bergstrom is on a run of five straight top-five finishes and he’s shot par or better in each of the past 12 rounds.
- Anthony Muttillo – The freshman from Boca Raton, Fla., is in the lineup for the third straight event and shined in his debut while tying for 20th place at the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate. Muttillo set USF career bests in Fort Lauderdale by carding consecutive rounds of 1-under 71 to start the tournament.
- Ryoto Furuya – The junior from Alpharetta, Ga., posted his third top-10 finish of the season by tying for sixth at the USF Invitational. The first-year Bull has shot par or better in three of his past four rounds.
- Kyle Flexsenhar – The junior has placed in the top 13 or better in each of the Bulls’ first three spring team events. The last time out, the Lake Mary, Fla., native placed fifth at the USF Invitational with a 2-under 214. Flexsenhar currently ranks second on the team with a 71.2 season scoring average.
Quotable
Assistant coach Brad Caldwell’s thoughts on the Bulls taking on a tough Valspar Collegiate Invitational field:
“You want to go into it with a little more focus and concentration, but at the same time it’s just another round of golf for these guys. That’s what we’ve been preaching to them – stay in the present, stay in the now and just play golf like you know how to play. They’ve proven to be a really good team and this is a great opportunity for them to show some of the best teams in the country that they are.”
Caldwell on the weather forecast for the event and how special it is to play at Floridian National Golf Club:
“We’re going to get some weather. It’s going to rain a little bit and the wind is going to blow, so it’s going to be a really tough test. It’s going to be a grinder’s paradise and the five we’ve got here are capable of buckling down and really fighting through this thing all 54 holes.”
“It’s one of the best golf courses in Florida, hands down. You’ve got multiple PGA Tour players that play and practice out there during their off weeks. For us to get to play something like that is incredible. It’s always in perfect shape and they treat us unbelievably well. It’s one of the premier events in college golf, not just on our schedule.”
Notable
- Success at the USF Invitational marked the Bulls’ second tournament victory of the season and the 18th under the guidance of head coach Steve Bradley. Since his program debut in 2014-15. USF has captured multiples titles in each season with Bradley at the helm – 2014-15 (5), 2015-16 (4), 2016-17 (2), 2017-18 (5), 2018-19 (2).
- Freshman Albin Bergstrom moved up to No. 42 in this week’s Golfstat NCAA rankings. Bergstrom also has worked his way into the top 100 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).
About USF Men’s Golf
USF men’s golf has captured the past four American Athletic Conference Championship titles in wire-to-wire fashion and made six straight trips to NCAA Regionals. The program is led by Steve Bradley, who has earned American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors the past four seasons. Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the late st information concerning the program.
Tom Zebold
USF Senior Writer
