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Pensacola, FL The Virginia men’s golf team got its spring season off to a stellar start by winning West Florida’s Argonaut Invitational in Pensacola. The Cavaliers shot 2-under 286 during the final round to hold off Liberty by one stroke and take the team title at 1-over 865.
Virginia was led by the top-10 finishes of Will Collins and Ben Kohles. Collins was fourth overall at 3-under 213, including a 72 Tuesday. It was his best tournament finish as a Cavalier. Kohles shot 3-under 69 during the final round to move up to sixth overall at even-par 216. It was the second top-10 finish this year for the UVa freshman.
Collins came up big for the Cavaliers on the final hole, a par-3 that is border on the right side by Pensacola Bay. His tee shot went right but managed to hang up in the turf and not roll into the water. From there he converted an up-and-down to save par and give Virginia the win.
“That was a pretty unbelievable finish,” said UVa coach Bowen Sargent. “I told Will if I gave him 30 tries, I’m not sure he could get that up-and-down more than once from where he was”
Virginia’s scoring was rounded out by the 11th-place finish of Kyle Stough at 4-over 220. Conrad Von Borsig was 15th at 221 and Steven Rojas was 31st at 227. Cole Willcox, playing as a non-scoring individual, was 21st overall at 224.
The win marked the Cavaliers’ fifth top tournament finish under Sargent and the third consecutive season Virginia has won an event trophy.
“The team played solid all day,” Sargent said. “This was a tournament we felt we had a good chance to win and the players worked hard and were prepared. It is not always easy, especially playing in our first event of the spring, but it is a great start to the season. The guys are pretty excited. We have a big week ahead at Florida State, but this is a great start for us.”
Virginia stays in Florida over Spring Break and resumes play Friday at Florida State’s Seminole Intercollegiate that runs through Sunday.
Argonaut Invitational
Pensacola Country Club
Par 72, 6,815 yards
Pensacola, FL
Final Results
Team Results
1. Virginia 292-287-286-865
2. Liberty 284-295-287-866
3. Washington State 296-286-288-870
4. James Madison 287-299-298-884
5. Air Force 295-286-308-889
6. Western Carolina 299-297-298-894
7. West Florida 304-296-296-896
8. Houston Baptist 300-309-291-900
9. Samford 317-289-307-913
10. Ohio 313-291-310-914
11. Army 315-307-320-942
Individual Leaders
1. Tom Whitney, Air Force 69-66-72-207
5. Kevin Tucker, Washington State 73-70-68-211
2. Kyle Scott, West Florida 73-68-71-212
2. Will Collins, Virginia 73-68-72-213
7. Robert Karlsson, Liberty 70-74-70-214
6. Ben Kohles, Virginia 70-77-69-216
4. Paul Mitzel, Washington State 72-70-74-216
8. Tanner Briele, Western Carolina 73-75-71-219
8. Tobias Pettersson, Liberty 70-78-71-219
8. Richard Schenz-Davis, Liberty 77-71-71-219
Virginia Results
4. Will Collins 73-68-72-213
6. Ben Kohles 70-77-69-216
11. Kyle Stough 75-71-74-220
15. Conrad Von Borsig 75-75-71-221
31. Steven Rojas 74-73-80-227
21. Cole Willcox* 74-76-74-224
* Non-scoring individual