BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. // The Navy men's golf team not only battled the links, but battled inclement weather throughout the two-day tournament to close out the regular season with a 16th-place finish at the Mountaineer Invitational played at the Pete Dye Golf Club in Bridgeport, W.Va. on Monday and Tuesday. Navy shot an 82-over par 946 (303-319-324) to finish just 3 strokes out of the top 13.
Chip Deegan (Jr / Newport Beach, Calif.) led the way for the Mids with an 18-over par 234 (76-77-81) to place 48th, while team captain
Benjamin Valdez (Sr / Stevenson Ranch, Calif.) moved up 19 spots for the Mids following the final round, covering the course with a 22-over par 238 (79-82-77). Placing 71st was
Danny Auffant (So / Bellevue, Wash.), who recorded a three-round mark 239 (75-79-85) to finish 23 over, while
Jack Tarzy (Jr / Medford, N.J.) was a stroke behind in 74th with a 240 (75-81-84). Rounding things out for the Mids was
Ed Scott (Fr / Lemont, Ill.), who finished 25-over with a 241 (77-82-82).
Tournament Notes
• Fourth-ranked Oklahoma State (E/ 277-295-292=864) won the team title by 24 strokes over 74th-ranked Kentucky (287-297-304=888).
• Oklahoma State is only the second team (West Virginia) to win the Mountaineer Invitational multiple times, having now won it twice in the last three years.
• Oklahoma State's Eric Lee, ranked #52 in the country, claimed individual medalist honors with a 6-under par 210 (67-72-71) ... Oklahoma State also had golfers tie for third place as Ethan Fang (75-72-72=219) and Gaven Lane (69-77-73=219) both finished 3-over.
• Navy was among an 18-team field that featured 5 teams ranked among the top 100 - #4 Oklahoma State, #28 Texas Tech, #52 TCU, #74 Kentucky and #95 West Virginia
• There were 9 players who are currently ranked among the top 200 who competed, including 4 of the top 100 - #10 Ethan Fang, Oklahoma State; #15 Preston Stout, Oklahoma State; #52 Eric Lee, Oklahoma State; #60 Connor Graham, Texas Tech
Navy will utilize the next week-and-a-half to prepare for the 2025 Patriot League Championship which is slated to be played April 25-27 at the Bucknell Golf Course in Lewisburg, Pa.
### Go Navy ###
