February 19, 2016
Hokies open spring season in Puerto Rico
Top field awaits golfers in the Caribbean

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia Tech men’s golf team begins its Spring 2016 season this weekend at the Puerto Rico Classic. The three-day event will be played at the Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa’s River Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

The 54-hole event, hosted by Purdue, annually attracts one of the top fields in all of collegiate golf. This year’s tournament boasts five of the top 20 teams in the nation, as of the end of the fall season. Defending champion Georgia and four-time tournament champion Alabama will play this season. Tech is one of five ACC teams in the field. All 15 teams are ranked in the top 100 nationally.

Among the notable players to win the Puerto Rico Classic are Luke Donald, Lucas Glover, Hunter Swafford and Justin Thomas. Last season, Virginia Tech’s Scott Vincent and Alabama’s Dru Love, son of Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III, were co-champions of the tournament.

Tech will begin the spring season with a starting line-up of Joey Lane, Ryan Mondy, Maclain Huge, Drew Johnson and Blake Fiest. Lane, a junior from Great Falls, Virginia, moves into the top spot for the Hokies following a strong Fall 2015 season. Lane closed out the fall with three consecutive top 10 finishes, highlighted by fourth-place finishes at Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate and the Kiawah Classic by Aramark.

Mondy, a junior from Blacksburg, moves into the regular line-up this spring after finishing third in scoring in the fall and Huge, a senior from Lovettesville, Virginia is the current Virginia State Amateur champion. Johnson, a junior from Oak Ridge, North Carolina played in all five fall events and Fiest, a freshman from Huntersville, North Carolina, earned valuable playing experience in the fall.

The event begins on Sunday morning with an 8 a.m. AST shot-gun start. Teams will be regrouped following each of the first two rounds by score. Live scoring will be available on Birdiefire.com and a link from Hokiesports.com.

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