Following a three-week layoff, the Flames will begin a busy Spring Break week on Monday at the General Hackler Championship.

No. 41 Liberty will play two tournaments this week, beginning with the two-day, 54-hole event hosted by Coastal Carolina at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club (par 72, 7,233 yards) in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

All but one of the 14 teams in the field currently ranks inside the top 100 in the latest Golfstat national rankings, including eight top-50 teams: Auburn (No. 6), Virginia (No. 16), North Florida (No. 34), Duke (No. 35), Louisville (No. 39), Liberty (No. 41), East Tennessee State (No. 45)  and South Carolina (No. 49).

Following play at the General Hackler Championship, Liberty will travel to Statesboro, Ga. to play at the Schenkel Invitational this weekend (March 17-19) at Forest Heights Country Club.

Play at the General Hackler Championship gets underway on Monday morning at 9 a.m. (shotgun start) for 36 holes of continuous play. The final 18 holes will be contested on Tuesday.

Now on The Tee – Liberty’s Starting Five (2022-23 Stroke Average)

• Josh Ryan (71.38)
• Jonathan Yaun (71.52)
• Austin Barbin (72.05)
• Isaac Simmons (72.19)
• Connor Polender (72.67)
• Individual: Ryan Davidson (75.00)

Tournament Reflections – Previous Showing at the General Hackler Championship: 

• The General Hackler Championship has appeared on Liberty’s schedule each of the last five seasons.
• Liberty’s best showing in its four showing at this Championship was a runner-up finish in 2020 where the Flames carded an 8-under par 856 (288-283-285).
• The 2020 event was the last tournament Liberty participated in prior to the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the remainder of the season (March 9-10, 2020).
• Liberty was scheduled to play in the 2021 event, but they were unable to participate.
• The Flames finished the 2022 Championship tied for ninth place with a 6-over par 870 (292-287-291).
• Liberty alum Kieran Vincent paced the Flames last year, finishing tied for ninth place with a 5-under par 211 (71-70-70).
• Jonathan Yaun has played in this event three times during his career, posting a 73.33 scoring average at the course.

From the 18^th Green – Recapping Liberty’s Last Time Out:

• Facing its toughest regular season field of the year, Liberty finished in 12^th place out of 24 teams at The Prestige (Feb. 20-22).
• The 24-team field featured 11 teams who entered the tournament ranked inside the top 50 in the country in the Golfstat national rankings.
• High winds during the final round at the Greg Norman Course at PGA West (pa 71, 7,100) in La Quinta, Calif., caused individual and team scores to climb.
• The course played at a 77.19 scoring average during the final round, as compared to lower scores during Round 1 (73.85) and Round 2 (73.41).
• Liberty finished the tournament with a 12-over par 296, which was the fourth-best team score during the final round. Overall, the Flames carded a 33-over par 886 (296-293-296).
• No. 15 Pepperdine, who claimed the 2021 NCAA national championship, finished atop the leaderboard with a winning score of 8-under par 844 (276-278-290).
• Texas Tech, the highest-ranked team in the field at No. 3, took the runner-up spot, fini Liberty was led by Austin Barbin, who finished tied for 32nd place with a 7-over 220 (73-75-72). Barbin climbed 30 spots up the leaderboard during the third round, using four birdies to post a final round 1-over par 72.shing six strokes behind Pepperdine with a 2-under par 850 (280-282-288).

Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes

• The Flames will enter their fourth tournament of the spring season ranked No. 41 in the latest Golfstat national rankings (March 7).
• The Flames finished the fall season with a 283.92 team scoring average, the second-best mark in program history (school record: 283.07 in 2016).
• Liberty is ranked No. 34 in the country in birdies (343) and No. 33 in eagles (12).
• The Flames also ranked No. 48 in the country in par-5 scoring (4.72 scoring average) and No. 67 in par-3 scoring (3.17 scoring average).
• The Flames entered the 2022-23 season as one of 11 teams in the country who have advanced to the NCAA Men’s Golf National Championship each of the last three years.
• The 11-team group includes Arizona State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Liberty, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Pepperdine, Texas, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.
• Since 2011, Liberty has captured six conference titles in two different conferences.
• Liberty captured the conference title five times as a member of the Big South Conference (2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018).
• Liberty won its first-ever ASUN Conference championship in 2021.
• The Flames have advanced to the NCAA Regionals 10 of the last 11 regional events and to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship four times in program history (2012, 2019, 2021 and 2022).

Looking at the Latest Rankings (Golfstat rankings as of March 8):

Auburn (No. 6)
Charlotte (No. 69)
Coastal Carolina (No. 90)
Duke (No. 35)
East Carolina (No. 150)
East Tennessee State (No. 45)
Furman (No. 53)
Kent State (No. 72)
Liberty (No. 41)
Louisville (No. 39)
NC State (No. 67)
North Florida (No. 34)
South Carolina (No. 49)
Virginia (No. 16)

Course Information:

• The Dunes Golf & Beach Club (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
• Par 72, 7,233 yards

Following the Flames at General Hackler Championship:

• Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com
• Twitter @LibertyGolf
• Instagram @LibertyGolf
• Round 1 Tee Time: Monday at 9:00 a.m./EST (Shotgun Start)