University of Minnesota Athletics
Valspar Collegiate Concludes Gopher Spring Break
3/18/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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Minnesota will play in the prestigious Valspar Collegiate Invitational Sunday, March 19-Tuesday March 21. Each day at the Floridian in Palm City, Fla., will feature 18 holes, beginning with a 12:15 p.m. CT shotgun state on Sunday. Monday's round will start in split-tee fashion at 8 a.m., and Tuesday's at 7 a.m.
The Golden Gophers have already spent a week in Florida practicing over the U of M's spring break. Staying at the Doral Resort, they were able to play four courses in five days even before the practice round at the Floridian.
"The guys get a lot out of this week," head coach John Carlson said. "We're going into not only going to the Valspar, but our month of April, which is busy with Princeton, Iowa and Big Tens, with a lot of golf under our belts."
The field: Checking in at 49th, host team Houston is one of nine teams in the field ranked in Golfstat's top 50. The Gophers will also face No. 10 Wake Forest, No. 12 LSU, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 18 Texas, No. 23 Arkansas, No. 27 Georgia Tech, No. 30 Florida State, No. 33 South Carolina, Memphis, North Texas and USF. The Gophers will be grouped with Wake Forest and Georgia Tech.
"It's very similar to the field we have at the Gopher," Carlson said. "We start off the year at the Gopher with one of the strongest fields. This is one of the strongest three fields of all college golf. It's been an adjustment to make for the players, as a lot of these teams are new to us. These teams are all good. They represent Power Five conferences, and they're the best in their conference. We look forward to the challenge."
The course: The Floridian plays at 7,114 yards and a par of 71. Michael Jordan, Rickie Fowler and Ernie Els are just a few of the high-profile members of the club.
"The Floridian is ranked as the top course in Florida," Carlson said. "It's the best course that college golf is played on every year."
The lineup: Justin Doeden, Riley Johnson, Thomas Longbella, Grady Meyer and Rúnar Arnorsson will play for the Gophers. Doeden is coming off his best collegiate tournament, a third-place, 8-under finish at the Tiger Invitational.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see him contend again this week," Carlson said. "He's really confident with his game. Every round that he's played here, he's been right at the top of our leaderboard. He's putting it much better this year than he was last year. His tee-to-green game has always been really solid, and with a short game now to go along with it, I wasn't surprised to see him finish third at Auburn."
Johnson was the Gophers' second finisher at Auburn, and earned the No. 2 spot in the lineup for the Valspar.
"Riley has made the most improvement from Year 1 to Year 3," Carlson said. "He's very consistent. His golf swing is as good as it gets in college golf. His ball flight holds up in the wind and holds up in any conditions."
Longbella has had every one of his scores count toward the Gophers' team total during his freshman season.
"Thomas Longbella is one of the best freshmen in the country," Carlson said. "He has a good chance to get Big Ten Freshman of the Year if he continues at the pace that he's at. Averaging 71.8 through his first six collegiate tournaments is astounding. He has adjusted to the college golf life very well. He also is one of the longest players we've ever had."
Players Mentioned
