The Furman men’s golf team is set to begin its spring season at the 49th Gators Invitational, which will take place Saturday and Sunday at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Florida. The course is a par 70 and measures 6,701 yards.
Furman head coach Matt Davidson commented on the upcoming event: “The first event of the spring is always one of the most anticipated and exciting tournaments. Even with some rough weather at times, we still got in enough solid practice and qualifying, and the guys are certainly ready to go. Mark Bostick Golf Course is similar to Furman, as it is very fair tee to green, but presents challenges on and around the greens. Approach play and putting will be at a premium. We can’t wait to get the spring season rolling down there.”
The team’s lineup for this tournament features seniors Harris Barth, Zach Frazer, Clark Akers, along with freshmen Benton Manly and Cameron Reed.
Furman will compete in an 18-team field that includes host Florida—currently ranked tenth nationally—as well as No. 2 Auburn, No. 20 Charlotte, Chattanooga, Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, Indiana, Jacksonville, Liberty, No. 21 Notre Dame, No. 12 Oklahoma State, Penn State, UCF (Central Florida), North Florida, South Florida, and West Virginia.
This year’s field features recent top performers in collegiate golf: it includes the last three national champions and eight teams that participated in last season’s NCAA regionals—including three regional champions from 2025—and four teams that advanced to the 2025 national championship.
The tournament consists of 54 holes beginning with a modified shotgun start at 7:20 a.m. on Saturday. Furman will start on hole No. 13 during Saturday’s two rounds alongside groups from Florida Atlantic and Central Florida. Sunday’s round is scheduled for an 8 a.m. start due to possible inclement weather.
Admission for spectators is free; live scoring will be available through Scoreboard by clippd.
Earlier this season at the Gopher Invitational, Akers and Frazer tied for twentieth place individually while Furman finished eighth as a team after posting a final-round score of 284. Barth later claimed his first individual title at the Bearcat Invitational with scores of 67-69-68=204 and led Furman with a sixth-place finish at SMU’s Trinity Forest Invitational. The Paladins concluded their fall schedule by placing fifth at the Furman Intercollegiate.
