BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Visitors to Pete Dye Golf Club are greeted by a pond right next to the clubhouse. During the Mountaineer Invitational, an 18-team golf tournament hosted by WVU, every team had a flag posted around it.
They sure were busy during the final round. Gusts of up to 40 miles per hour in all directions started and stopped for all of it and made for a hellacious round that few could navigate.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt was brutal, some of the hardest conditions IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve seen, maybe ever,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ West Virginia coach and event organizer Sean Covich said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIt was borderline unplayable. ThatÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s how bad it was.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
But atop stood Oklahoma State, the No. 4-ranked team nationally, at even par to claim the team title. After round one, played on Monday, the Cowboys were sitting at 11-under. Tuesday brought them back to earth, but they held strong.
Oklahoma StateÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s best came from Eric Lee, the only player to finish under par in the field of 100 golfers. He posted three consecutive rounds under par, finalizing at 6-under to be the individual winner.
West Virginia and Marshall finished in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Covich wasnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t impressed with WVUÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s performance. After MondayÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s first round, the Mountaineers stood at 18-over par, 12th in the standings. They were able to rally for the best score in the second round at 5-over before a final round total of 16-over finished the week.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œNot happy at all,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Covich said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe got off to a bad start, and we finished bad. In the middle was pretty good. Round two was good. Most of (the third) round was OK. It was kind of a microcosm of the whole season for us ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” a little bit disappointing. We have tons of talent and great players, but we havenÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t been able to put it together this year.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
The scorecard was highlighted by a brilliant stretch of holes from No. 6 to No. 8 in the second round. WVUÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s Todd Duncan and Max Green each birdied No. 6, a 337-yard par 4, before each eagled No. 8 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” a signature hole of the course designed by one of golfÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s greatest minds.
It starts atop a hill down into a fairway before the green greets players with one of the most amazing views in West Virginia golf ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” an exposed cliffside on the right with bunkers barricading a longer-than-wide green that challenges both mind and iron.
Green and Duncan turned their experience with Pete Dye ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” WVUÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s home course ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” into a pair of 3s.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œTodd and Max had eagles on the same hole and got rolling a little bit. Like I said, though, we canÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t put together a full tournament,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Covich said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œ(The Big 12) conference championship is coming up next week. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ll probably be our last tournament ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” weÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ll see how it goes. Hopefully, we can finish strong out there. WeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve got to figure out our lineup and hopefully finish strong out there. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a good opportunity to play against some of the best teams in the country.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
WVU was led by Duncan at 7-over par. He finished 11th in the overall standings. Kaleb Wilson was right behind in 13th at 8-over.
The Herd was led by JF Aber at 8-over, tied at 13th, and Ryan Bilby, finishing at 9-over to tie for 17th. MarshallÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s top-five finish in the team standings ranked above Big 12 member TCU in sixth and Sun Belt member James Madison, which was eighth.
Bilby said he looked forward to the event every season. Now, as a senior, he enjoyed his last run at the track.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThis is my fourth and last one, but itÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s always a treat. This is one of the best tournaments that we come to. The course is just tough, especially with the weather like this,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Bilby said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYesterday, the weather was nice, and you can score. Today, youÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re hanging on for dear life.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
AberÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s thoughts on the third round can be summed up with the way the green treated him on No. 9. The green is accompanied by nearby houses and plenty of trees that lost all of their leaves. Every time a putt path was cleared leaf-by-leaf, the wind promptly blew a few hundred back in.
Most putts had an added downwind that pushed or pulled the putter during strokes. A bird sat greenside and hunkered down for a few groups.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThe first round, the wind was down. ItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s still a tough course, but it was a little more gettable,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Aber said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œBut late last night and early today, this was probably the hardest course IÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve ever played ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” but it was a lot of fun for sure.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Aber finished the first round of play within the top five of the leaderboard at 2-under-par. He netted one of few eagles the course was willing to give up to reach his team-leading card. Many on Tuesday, though, said that it was more about par-hunting, with the way the wind carried.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œA lot of holes, you are standing there and in a matter of seconds, the wind flips,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Aber said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œIÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™ve never seen gusts in all four directions ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” it was pretty crazy.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
But the wind doesnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t take away from the experience ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” the best course in the state for many and an event unlike any other, in the words of Herd coach Matt Grobe.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œYou never get used to the conditions when youÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re playing as tough of a course and as great as a setup as they have here at Pete Dye,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Grobe said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œBut at least the conditions, they are used to.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œI felt good about our finish. The main thing is that it gives us some momentum entering the (Sun Belt) conference championship. We leave here in a couple of days, so we have a quick turnaround. I like that we finished strong. I hope that we can take that momentum and carry it.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS:
1 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” No. 4 Oklahoma State ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” E
2 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Kentucky ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +24
3 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” No. 28 Texas Tech ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +34
4 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” West Virginia ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +39
5 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Marshall ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +45
6 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” TCU ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +46
7 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Oral Roberts ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +51
8 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” James Madison ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +59
9 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” George Mason ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +59
10 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Western Kentucky ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +61
11 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Robert Morris ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +64
12 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Drexel ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +68
13 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Virginia Tech ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +76
14 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Villanova ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +79
15 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” William & Mary ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +80
T16 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Navy ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +82
T16 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Tennessee Tech ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +82
18 ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” Army ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” +101
