USF Athletics

Bulls Start Spring Season at Sea Best Invitational

February 03, 2018

EVENT: Sea Best Invitational
DATES: Monday, Feb. 5 – Tuesday, Feb. 6
LOCATION: TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
LIVE SCORING: Golfstat.com
TWITTER UPDATES: @USFMGolf
TEE TIMES
 

By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, FEB. 3, 2018 – Defending conference champion USF men's golf will take on some of the nation's top programs right out of the gates in the spring season opener.

Head coach Steve Bradley's Bulls are gearing up for the Sea Best Invitational, which begins Monday with 36 holes at TPC Sawgrass' Dye's Valley Course (par 70, 6,858 yards). Action concludes Tuesday at the event that features five top-25 teams and eight programs ranked in the top 50 nationally by Golfstat.

USF resumes competition after smashing school records in its 19-shot victory at the Quail Valley Collegiate in Vero Beach, Fla., on Oct. 24. The Bulls started their fall season with a 13-shot win at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate and placed in the top six in all four fall events.

The Field
USF, host Jacksonville, No. 7 Florida, No. 11 LSU, No. 20 Arkansas, No. 23 Duke, No. 24 North Carolina, No. 27 North Florida, No. 28 Tennessee, Campbell, East Carolina, Liberty, Lipscomb, USC-Upstate and Winthrop.

Start Times
Monday's 36-hole action begins with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Tuesday's final round gets underway at 8 a.m.

The Lineup

1. Cristian DiMarco – The senior from Longwood, Fla., led the Bulls in the fall with a 71.1 stroke average and four top-25 finishes while tying for the team lead with two top-10 performances. DiMarco captured the first title of his collegiate career in the fall opener at the Jim Rivers Intercollegiate.
2. Jimmy Jones – The senior from Tampa was right behind DiMarco in the fall with a 72.4 scoring average and three top-25 performances. Jones finished in the top 10 twice, including a tie for third at the Quail Valley Collegiate.
3. Kyle Flexsenhar – The sophomore from Lake Mary, Fla., built momentum in the fall with a 73.0 scoring average and two top-10 finishes while ranking second on the team with seven rounds of par or better.
4. Priyanshu Singh – The senior from Delhi, India competed in two fall tournaments as an individual with a top-25 finish after a solid 2017 spring season. Singh helped USF complete a three-peat at the American Athletic Conference tournament by tying for 11^th place.
5. Claudio Correa – The senior from Santiago, Chile tied for the team lead in the fall with two top-10 finishes, including a second-place performance at the Quail Valley Collegiate. Correa also posted a 72.6 scoring average and placed in the top 25 in three of four events.

Quotable
Head coach Steve Bradley's thoughts on starting the spring early at the Sea Best Invitational:
"It's the first time we've played this event. Typically, we start at UF with the Gator Invitational and I just kind of felt we ended the fall a little earlier than we normally do, so I wanted to start the spring a little earlier. We've got an advantage with the weather and we can practice and play throughout the winter. I felt like as opposed to waiting around, let's go ahead and get after a little bit. It's a really good field and a really good golf course. We're excited for the challenge."

Bradley on the Bulls getting to play on TPC Sawgrass' Dye's Valley Course:
"They used to have the Web.com Tour Championship at the Valley Course. Stroke average-wise, it was the most difficult golf course the Web.com played all year in relation to par. It's a par-70 and it will hold up against just about anything. Obviously, a lot of it depends on the weather, temperatures, wind and things with it being close to the water. It's a good golf course, for sure."

Bradley on the team's approach heading into the spring season opener:
"It's been over three months since we've competed. I think while it's nice to have won a tournament to end the fall, you've got to kind of go out and prove yourself each time you tee it up. I think that's the mindset going in here. It's the first time Pri has seen action in the top five for this golf season. I know he's excited about that. To have four seniors in the lineup this week, and Kyle being a sophomore, there's definitely going to be a lot of leadership and experience."
 
About USF Men's Golf
USF men's golf returns six players from the 2016-17 team that captured the program's third consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship title. Head coach Steve Bradley has been at the helm for all three league championship runs and guided the Bulls back to the final rounds of the NCAA Championship in 2016. Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.