Golf begins 2024-25 in Gopher Invitational at Windsong Farm

Sunday, September 8

Maple Plain, MN (Windsong Farm Golf Club)

All Day

Marquette University

Gopher Invitational

Golf begins 2024-25 in Gopher Invitational at Windsong Farm

9/6/2024 9:36:00 AM | Men's Golf

Gopher Invitational Windsong Farm Golf Club Live Scoring

The Golden Eagles finished fourth at the event last fall

By: Communications

Gopher Invitational | Windsong Farm | Live Scoring

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men's golf team heads to Minnesota for its first event of the fall on Sunday, Sept. 8 and Monday, Sept. 9 in the Gopher Invitational at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minnesota.

Live scoring will be available through Scoreboard by Clippd.

THE EVENT
The field at the Gopher Invitational is comprised of 15 teams including Marquette, Iowa, New Mexico, Georgia Southern, Nebraska, Baylor, St. Thomas, Furman, Northern Illinois, Iowa State, West Virginia, Rutgers, Kent State, UNC-Wilmington, and Minnesota.

Play begins Sunday at 7:15 am Central time with the opening round and the second round slated to follow in the afternoon. Final round tee time off No. 1 and No. 10 on Monday at the same time.

THE COURSE
The Gopher Invitational has called Windsong Farm Golf Club home for the past 11 years. Windsong Farm is consistently rated among Minnesota's top golf courses, with additional national recognition as one of the top modern courses in the nation. Originally created by John Fought and Minnesota native Tom Lehman, the course's breathtaking views and unmatched conditions contribute to the ultimate golfing experience. Opened in 2003, Windsong measures 7,380 yards and has a par-71 layout.

MARQUETTE LINEUP
1. Max Lyons
2. Johan Widal
3. Patrick Adler
4. Vincent Cervantes
5. Ryan Banas
Ind. (at Pioneer Creek): Wyatt Chapman, Mason Schmidtke

Max Lyons, the 2023-24 BIG EAST Conference Player of the Year and this summer's 104th Wisconsin State Open champion, leads the Golden Eagles at the top spot in the lineup. He led qualifying BIG EAST athletes with a 72.33 stroke scoring average last season, while posting 17 par-or-better rounds and five rounds in the 60s. His scoring average was plus-0.70 strokes to par and he led MU at six of its 11 events over the academic year.

Lyons led MU in each of the previous two Gopher Invitationals with identical 2-under 211s as both a freshman in 2021 and a junior last fall. His mark last year earned him a tie for sixth at the event as he paced MU to a fourth-place team finish out of 14 squads.

Fellow senior Patrick Adler sits third in the lineup after showing improvements in his game over the past year. He broke into a veteran-laden MU lineup last fall and even recorded a 1-under 71 on the final day of last year's conference championship at Riverton Pointe. Adler kept the momentum going this summer, by winning the South of Ireland Open Championship this summer at historic Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare as well as tying for 11th at the Wisconsin State Open.

MU welcomes a pair of highly-regarded newcomers this year in transfer Johan Widal from Sweden and freshman Vincent Cervantes from Lyons' native Arizona. Widal occupies the No. 2 spot for the Golden Eagles this week after garnering NCAA Division I all-region and all-conference honors at Tiffin University in Ohio. He also had an impressive summer with five top-six finishes in Sweden and a 12th-place finish at the Danish Amateur Championship.

Cervantes, MU's No. 4, earned medalist honors this year at the Mexican Junior Championship and the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup North American Qualifier in Guatemala. He went on to finish 11th in the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan.

Sophomore Ryan Banas rounds out the MU ledger in the No. 5 spot this weekend. He competed just once last season as part of the squad's lineup in the season opener, the Marquette Intercollegiate at Erin Hills. Banas did play individually in the Minnesota Golf Classic at Pioneer Creek last fall, where he tied for 30th with a 3-over 219, his best 54-hole score of the year.

Banas' classmates Wyatt Chapman and Mason Schmidtke will compete individually on Saturday and Sunday in the Minnesota Golf Classic. Schmidtke competed in the same event last fall and and finished 58th, while Chapman will make his NCAA debut in the event.

Previous Gopher Invitational Results:

Max Lyons
2023: T6 (1st) -2 (69-70-72—211)
2021: T13 (1st) -2 (73-68-70—211)

Patrick Adler
2023: T31 (4th) +3 (74-71-71—216)
2021: T63 (5th) +16 (82-72-75—229)

Keep up with the Marquette men's golf program through social media by following on X (@MarquetteMGolf) and Instagram (@MarquetteMGolf) and 'liking' on Facebook (/MarquetteMGolf).