A final tune-up before playing in the Patriot League Championship next week, the Navy men's golf team will play host to its annual Navy Spring Invitational this weekend at the Naval Academy Golf Club.  The two-day, 36-hole event features a field of 14 including two Navy squads - Navy Blue and Navy Gold.  Action is slated to begin on Friday with an 8:30 am shotgun start.

Navy Spring Invitational
Date:  April 19-20
The Course: Naval Academy Golf Club
Par: 71, plays to 6,528 yards
Schedule of Play: Two 18-hole rounds
Friday, April 19 - Round 1 (8:30 shotgun start)
Saturday, April 10 - Round 2 (Tee times start at 8:30 am)

Tournament History
In the 38 years the Navy Spring Invitational has been played using a stroke-play format, 22 different schools have claimed the team title, including 16 different winners in the last 22 years. Navy has won the tournament six times (1995-03-06-08-10-16), while five other programs have won the crown multiple times over the years - Temple (5), Maryland (4), Penn State (3), Johnson & Wales (2) and Penn (2).  

George Washington shot the low round in last year's final round (305, +21) to make the move from third to claim a 9-stroke victory over Towson and Lehigh with a 36-over par 604. Additionally, GW's Jack Porcelli took individual medalist honors with a 5-over par 147 (71-76).

Towson (290-323) and Lehigh (302-311) tied for second with a 45-over par 613, while Saint Joseph's (303-318=621) and Navy closed out the top five.

The Course
The Naval Academy Golf Club is a private, university golf course owned by the Naval Academy. It is operated by the Naval Academy Golf Association (NAGA), which is affiliated with the Naval Academy Athletic Association (NAAA). NAGA originally owned a nine-hole course established in 1916 which was adjacent to the Naval Academy Yard. However, the current golf course was acquired by the Naval Academy around 1939, when it was redesigned by renowned architect William Flynn (Shinnecock Hills, Cherry Hills, Upper Cascades).

The golf course serves as the home course for the Brigade of Midshipmen and all of the faculty and staff at the Naval Academy. Active duty and retired military personnel, as well as civilians also have access to the course. The golf course averages roughly 30,000 rounds per year, and is open year round, weather permitting.

The Field
In addition to the Navy Blue and Navy Gold squads, this weekend's field includes Binghamton, Fairleigh Dickinson, Lafayette, La Salle, Lehigh, LIU Brooklyn, Methodist College, Mount St. Mary's, Saint Francis, St. Francis Brooklyn, St. John's and Saint Joseph's.

Navy's Projected Lineups
Blue
-- Chad Deegan (Fr / Costa Mesa, Calif. / 75.42)
-- Paul Mauer (Sr / Eagleville, Pa. / 76.00)
-- Charlie Musto (So / Sterling, Va. / 75.75)
-- Griffin Peters (Sr / Fountain Hills, Ariz. / 74.85)
-- Matthew Starobin (Sr / Davidsonville, Md. / 76.73)

Gold
-- Michael Brennan (So / Locust Valley, N.Y. / 78.00)
-- Thomas Garbee (Jr / Asheville, N.C. / 74.67)
-- Nicholas Klock (Fr / Moraga, Calif. / 79.00)
-- Ward Wilkinson (So / Ashland, Va. / 75.33)
-- Ryan Hicks (So / St. Petersburg, Fla. / 82.00) > or
-- Jake Miles (So / Fredericksburg, Va. / 74.67)

Up Next
The Mids will seek their eighth Patriot League Championship team title when the eight league teams converge upon the Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, N.Y. the weekend of April 27-28 to compete in the two-day, 54-hole championship. Navy overcame a 2-stroke deficit by posting a 9-over par 297 in the final round en route to capturing the 2018 Patriot League Men's Golf Championship played at the par-72 Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. Two Navy golfers garnered All-Patriot League recognition, including Charlie Musto, who won individual medalist honors as the lone player in the field to finish under par.


### Go Navy ###